


Torn

by FireStorm1991



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Drama, F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Potential Triggers, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:53:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 26,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27525673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireStorm1991/pseuds/FireStorm1991
Summary: Bulma has spent her life living a lie. Raised by Ice-jin, but born of the Saiyans, will she have to betray one side for the other?Original FFN Run: November 14, 2011 - January 25, 2012
Relationships: Bulma Briefs/Vegeta
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters.

"Well, well," a sinister voice spoke up. "What do we have here?"

"Please, Lord Frieza," a woman cried. "Please don't take my daughter away from me."

The woman was shot through the heart with a weak energy beam. She had been weakened from childbirth and could not defend herself. She lay dead in a pool of her own blood.

Frieza looked at the crying blue-haired, blue-tailed Saiyan and smirked.

"One day, you will be very useful. Until then, my precious little monkey, I will raise you and you will never know of your Saiyan origins."

This was six years before the destruction of Planet Vegeta.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

_Six years later…_

The little Saiyan had been named Bulma, not exactly a Saiyan name, but a subtle cross between a Saiyan and Ice-jin name. The six year old was never made aware of her origins and treated as a princess on the ship even though she had heard she had been the result of Frieza's fun with a sex slave (or so she was told). Her tail had been removed when she was a baby and she knew nothing about it. Ki restraints were given to her at a young age to prevent it from growing back and to keep her from learning of her Saiyan abilities. It was the perfect plan.

Frieza loved his little pet and all the possibilities she could bring in the future. Even better, he got the king of Planet Vegeta to agree to a deal. The prince and two weaker Saiyans would be boarding the ship, right before he destroyed the planet of course.

When the prince had reluctantly boarded the ship, Frieza demanded an audience with the six year old boy.

"Why have you called for me?" a young Vegeta asked while glaring at his new "master."

Frieza smirked. "Aw, don't be like that Vegeta. I just wanted to introduce you to my daughter. You two are about the same age."

Vegeta was just about to ask why he should care, but the he saw the little girl being led into the room by Zarbon. She looked nothing like Frieza. She almost looked like a Saiyan; however, her coloring was strange and her power was insignificant.

She looked over at Vegeta curiously and then to Frieza. "Father, why have you called me away from my lessons?" she asked politely.

Frieza motioned to Vegeta. "This young boy is new on the ship and the same age as you. I figured you could make a new friend."

She walked over to Vegeta and held out her hand. Vegeta thought she was about to attack and was ready to defend himself. He had heard rumors about Frieza's treatment of others. Why should his daughter be any different? He did not take his eyes off of her.

An attack never came as the girl's hand stopped in front of him. She smiled at him brightly in her innocence. "My name is Bulma," she told him.

Vegeta looked over to Frieza who was frowning at him. Vegeta sighed and reluctantly took the girl's hand. Frieza obviously wanted the kid to have a playmate of some sort. It was better to suck it up and get the meeting over with. "Vegeta."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter has been redone 12/7/2012


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

Months passed and the Saiyans still had no idea that Frieza had destroyed their planet. Meanwhile, Bulma and Vegeta had gotten closer. At first, Vegeta refused to trust her or let her get close to him. She was Frieza's daughter, after all, and was probably given the task of spying on him. He found out later from Zarbon how wrong he was. Frieza never let Bulma know anything about his organization or treatment of the soldiers. This was confirmed by Raditz. She was completely innocent and Vegeta couldn't hold anything Frieza did to him against her. His defense, Bulma never asked to be born to a tyrant; she just wanted a friend. Vegeta had to admit that it was nice befriending someone his own age. Also, if Vegeta were ever to form an attachment, it might as well be her. Frieza wouldn't be able to threaten him using his own daughter. With all of this taken into consideration, Vegeta decided to accept Bulma's friendship.

"Vegeta, can you tell me about the PTO?" Bulma asked one day at lunch. He gave her a "you know I can't do that" look and Bulma sighed. "I just wish everyone would stop treating me like a child. Even you're treated with more respect than that."

Vegeta didn't have the heart to tell her that they just "respected" him around her, but behind closed doors he would be beaten within an inch of his life. "It's not all it's cracked up to be," he told her.

"Yeah, but you get to train," she pointed out. "My father won't even let me set foot in the training arenas and I always have to study for my etiquette classes and schoolwork. I hate being a girl."

Vegeta laughed, but not at her. She sounded so much like a Saiyan that it was hard to believe she was related to Frieza. He knew that one day she would be the biggest rebel ever and he could not wait to see that.

"Vegeta!" Nappa and Raditz called in alarm. The young prince turned to his two comrades and gave them a questioning look.

"Frieza…he said something happened to our planet," Nappa said while catching his breath.

"What?" Vegeta shouted while shooting up from his seat. He turned to Bulma. "Stay here." He ran out quicker than anything Bulma had seen before.

She still didn't listen to him, though, and secretly followed them to her father's throne room and listened in on the conversation. "I'm sorry, dear monkeys," he said almost apologetically, with a hint of amusement, "but it seems that about a month ago, Planet Vegeta was hit by an asteroid. There were no survivors."

The Saiyans were left in shock while Bulma gasped after hearing the news. She couldn’t even imagine the look on their faces at the moment. How could an asteroid destroy their planet? And what did that mean for their families? Her father said there were no survivors. Bulma choked back a sob and left before her father found out she had been eavesdropping.

* * *

Later, Vegeta came to her room. She had expected him to come eventually. He had not cried in front of Frieza or the only two remaining Saiyans for the entire day and he was now at his breaking point. There was only so much a six year old could take.

Vegeta slowly walked over to Bulma, but broke down before he reached her. She was the only one he ever showed emotion around. What he was dealing with, she couldn’t even imagine, especially having never seen the horrors of the universe like the other soldiers. Bulma got down on her knees with him and rubbed his back as he cried for his loss: the loss of his parents, his people, and his home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was redone on 12/7/2012


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

_6 Years Later…_

"You can't catch me!" Bulma called out to Vegeta. The two twelve year olds were playing tag through the halls of the ship. They wouldn't get in trouble because Bulma held a lot of weight with Frieza's men. Everyone loved the sweet innocence she brought amid the hell they were living. Even Nappa and Raditz got over their paranoia. The two older Saiyans knew that she had helped their prince come to terms with the destruction of Planet Vegeta and they were very grateful for that.

"Is that what they teach you in your etiquette classes, girl?" Vegeta teased when Bulma slid under a pole to escape him.

Bulma just smirked and gave him the finger. "They don't teach me that either."

Vegeta laughed at her behavior. What he would normally take as an insult he instead found hilarious, because he knew she meant no offense when she made those gestures. She only acted like a proper lady around her father and in front of the courts. Any other time, she would act like a tom-boy if only to relate to the others on the ship. No one would ever tell Frieza, though, since it was the best entertainment they had besides purging, fighting, or torturing others.

Vegeta finally caught up to her and, when he grabbed her arm, he lost his balance. Both of them fell, Bulma on top of Vegeta.

"Damn it, Vegeta,” she grunted. “You're so fast. It's not fair." Bulma said this with a pout on her face, that is, before she noticed their awkward position. "Um?" Bulma tried to get up, but Vegeta wouldn't let her. "Hey, what's your deal?"

Vegeta smirked at her, but didn't answer. He instead pulled her down to him to kiss her, something he had been wanting to do for a while. Bulma was shocked, but eventually closed her eyes and kissed back. They were practically teenagers after all.

"What is the meaning of this, monkey?"

Bulma and Vegeta gasped and broke away from each other. They looked up to see Dodoria standing over them with his arms crossed. He did not look happy.

"It was nothing, Mr. Dodoria," Bulma replied, back into her lady-like mode.

"We'll see," Dodoria threatened before walking away.

Bulma looked over to Vegeta. "I'm sorry," she said, knowing that Dodoria was probably going to tell her father. For some reason, the Ice-jin was not too fond of her Saiyan friend.

Vegeta caressed her cheek and smirked. "I'm not," he told her, making her blush and giggle.

* * *

The two retreated to their rooms in attempts to avoid Frieza finding out, but then again, Frieza always found out and they knew that.

"What were you doing with my daughter?" asked an enraged Frieza later in Vegeta's room.

Vegeta glared at him and replied calmly, "We didn't do anything." He knew Frieza wouldn’t believe him, especially because it wasn’t exactly “nothing,” but it was not as big of a deal as Frieza would make it. Vegeta cared about his half Ice-jin friend.

"Liar!" Frieza shouted smacking Vegeta into the wall. Nappa and Raditz overheard the crash. It woke them up and they quickly went to find Bulma. They knew Frieza wouldn't kill Vegeta if she were there in the room. He never wanted his little princess to witness death.

Now that she was older, Bulma knew more about the treatment of her father's men and didn't doubt their accusations. She ran with them, almost faster than them, to Vegeta's room hoping it wasn't too late.

When she got to the room, Vegeta was lying weakly in a pool of his own blood. "Say goodbye, you wretched Saiyan!" Frieza shrieked venomously. He powered up and was ready to strike Vegeta with a ki attack.

"Father, no!" Bulma cried running directly in front of Vegeta.

Frieza was shocked to see her standing there stopping him from attacking. He put his arm down, his ki dissipating, and scolded his daughter. "He should have never touched you. I will let him live, but you are not to 'hang out' together anymore unless I assign you to work in the med bay to treat my soldiers like I have been planning." Bulma nodded and muttered a soft "thank you." Frieza turned to the other Saiyans and said, "You are to leave him where he is. Do not even think about treating him or you'll pay. Come along now, Bulma."

"Yes, father," she said sadly but respectfully. She followed him out the door and let him lead her to her room.

Later, Bulma snuck into the med bay and took a few supplies, but not enough for her father to notice and find out what she was doing. She then snuck into Vegeta's room and found him asleep in the same position he had been left in earlier. She went to get a cloth to wash off the dried blood.

She started taking out the disinfectant and creams, and began to cleanse his wounds. Vegeta woke up to her gentle touch and smirked at her. He slightly touched her with his tail making her gasp at the contact. She looked down to see him awake and tears began to form in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said clenching her eyes shut. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

Vegeta, with all of his Saiyan strength, pulled her down to the floor and knelt over her. He kissed her again, to her surprise, and then smirked at her wide-eyed expression. "It was worth it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited on 12/7/2012


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

_Four years later…_

Bulma took to her job in the med bay like a fish to water. She knew what to do to heal the soldiers. Even if she was ordered not to treat someone who had been punished, she found a way to ease their pain creating the very first painkiller aboard Frieza's ship. Her father had never found out.

She had liked to invent things to help the other soldiers survive her father's cruel actions. Although he had always been nice to her, the others on the ship were not given the same treatment and it pained her to see how much pain her father caused to others. But what could she do? She was thousands of times weaker than him; and, as his daughter, she had to be somewhat obedient. However, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him or her. Which brought her to the first topic of her rebellion.

"What are you thinking about, woman?" Vegeta asked caressing her from behind and kissing her neck. Bulma giggled and sighed in contentment. Yes, she and Vegeta had decided to continue their friendship/relationship in secret. No one knew, not even Nappa or Raditz, and neither teenager cared.

"That I see you in here way too often," she somewhat teased, leaning back into his embrace.

"Are you complaining?" he asked smugly breathing lightly against her skin.

"When you're hurt, yes," she answered him honestly. She turned in his grasp to face him. "I hate seeing what my father does to you."

Vegeta shrugged it off. "It just helps me get stronger. Besides, gives me an excuse to see you with your father's permission."

Bulma smiled. "Is that why you act out against him all the time?"

Vegeta shook his head, his expression darkening. "I know he's your father, but I hate his guts, and one day I will defeat him."

"I know," Bulma replied, shocking Vegeta. She had no doubts that Vegeta would end her father's life one day, but part of her didn't care. She hated feeling trapped and controlled. And after everything her father had done to Vegeta, she couldn't and wouldn't blame him. She'd probably end up helping him one day if only to stop meaningless bloodshed. She loved her father, but she hated his actions; however, she was not delusional. He would never listen to reason; he wouldn't listen to her.

"And you're fine with that?" Vegeta asked her in shock.

"If you're fine with me being the daughter of the tyrant who beats you, I think I can get past your desire to kill him," she said before brushing her lips against his.

Vegeta smirked against her mouth. Bulma was amazing. She was kind and understanding and still managed to keep her innocent nature on a ship full of murderers while being related to the biggest murderer of them all. Vegeta could talk freely about wanting to kill Frieza to her and she would respect him and keep it to herself. He couldn't ask for a better friend and girlfriend.

"Just promise me you won't get yourself killed," Bulma pleaded.

Vegeta chuckled at her concern for him. "Never going to happen," Vegeta replied confidently, even though he didn't believe it himself.

Just then, Vegeta felt Zarbon's ki and gave Bulma a silent warning. Bulma quickly moved away from him, took out a spray bottle, and sprayed herself with a chemical she made herself that would eliminate Vegeta's scent on her. Everyone had sharp senses on this ship and she didn't want anyone finding out about her and Vegeta’s relationship or her father would kill him.

When Zarbon walked in, he glared at Vegeta. "What are you doing here, monkey?" Zarbon spat.

"Cool your ass down, Zarbon," Vegeta responded rudely. "I just came for some medicine for Raditz." Vegeta smirked. "I beat him pretty badly in training today."

"You shouldn't curse in front of a lady, Vegeta," Zarbon stated darkly.

"It's okay, I don't mind," Bulma said softly. "I hear it all the time walking in the halls. It's nothing new." Bulma took out some medical creams and handed them to Vegeta. "I hope these help Raditz. Please be careful during your next training session, okay?"

Vegeta kept a cool face and nodded before leaving. After he was outside the room, he smirked. That girl was a genius; he had to give her that. Vegeta looked back into the room before leaving to go train with his fellow Saiyans.

After he left, Zarbon turned to face Bulma, his expression still soured. "What was the monkey really doing in here?" Zarbon asked Bulma.

"He was only getting medicine, Mr. Zarbon," Bulma replied, blinking at him. "Didn't you hear him?"

No one could really see through her innocent act, at least not as well as Vegeta, so Zarbon didn't press. If Vegeta had been lying to the girl, it wasn't her fault, plus he did just take the medicine and leave. He could have been telling the truth for once.

"Your father wanted an audience with you," he told her.

Bulma tilted her head in confusion. "Did he say why?" she asked sweetly.

Zarbon nodded. "He said with your new job he barely gets to see you. He just misses his princess."

Bulma smiled brightly at the declaration. "Okay, I'll come, just let me put these papers in a file and I'll be ready." Zarbon nodded at her and watched as she filed some papers.

* * *

"Hello, my dear," Frieza greeted when Bulma came into the throne room. "Come give your father a hug."

Bulma grinned and ran over to him. She jumped into his embrace and nuzzled against him. "I've missed you too, father," she told him.

"Is everything going well?" Frieza asked, setting her down in front of him.

Bulma nodded proudly. "Yes, I'm getting much better at my job."

"Good, I'm glad,” Frieza replied. Then his expression darkened as Zarbon’s had. “I've been hearing rumors about Vegeta coming into the lab often. Is he giving you any trouble?"

Bulma shook her head and said, "No, he just trains a lot and keeps injuring himself."

"Stupid monkeys," Frieza muttered. "All of them. Now, Bulma, dear, if he starts acting strange around you, I want you to let me know."

"Strange how father?" Bulma asked cocking her head to the side.

Frieza didn't want to let Bulma in on his little secret. Turns out that the two sixteen year olds were at the mating years and he didn't need the two Saiyans procreating. He was also still trying to figure out what he planned to do with Bulma. At first, she was just his little weapon, but he grew to love her as his own daughter the only way a vicious tyrant could.

"If he gets too, um, handsy, with you," Frieza said carefully. To him, his daughter was still a naïve young lady.

"Don't worry, father, he won't hurt me," she told him with a bright smile on her face.

"Alright, you can go now," Frieza ordered. Bulma gave him a kiss on the cheek and happily skipped away, but stayed close to the door on the outside to listen. She knew the topic wasn't done with her.

"What do you need me to do, sir?" Zarbon asked after she was out of sight.

"Nothing yet, just make sure that monkey doesn't try to harm her or there will be hell to pay." Zarbon nodded and started to leave. Bulma ran off to her room to avoid being discovered.

* * *

On her way back to her room, she ran into an alien she had never seen before on the ship. He must have been a new recruit. The man grinned at her and Bulma felt her stomach drop, her heart starting to race as she passed him. "Well,” he said once she was next to him, “I haven't seen any other woman on this ship other than the sex slaves. You must have escape, little lady."

Bulma felt a little uneasy around this guy, but kept her cool. She gracefully turned to face him and spoke very diplomatically. "I don't know what you're talking about, sir. I was just with my father, Frieza." She hoped that would get him to back off, but it didn't, and he violently grabbed her arm.

"Yeah, and I was the queen of my planet," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Look, you're going to do as I say right now or I won't be nice about this."

Bulma flinched. She heard that some of the men were aggressive when it came to women, but she had never had to worry because her father made it clear that no one was to harm her. She was their princess. This new guy must not have known, and now she was in big trouble.

"Please, sir,” Bulma pleaded again, “my father will be very angry with you." She really didn't want to see anyone die because of her, even if they were trying to rape her.

"Shut up!" the man yelled slamming her into the wall. "I don't want to hear you yapping."

He slapped her across the face and threw her down to the ground. She tried to get up, but it was no use. She was in too much pain from the lack of training. She tried to get up, but felt her clothes get torn off. She got up the courage to look at the man and found him staring at her with dark, wild eyes. Bulma was too in shock to call out for help, staring at the man in fear. He got on top of her, but was pushed back and slammed into the wall. When Bulma looked up, she saw Vegeta punching the lights out of the man. After the guy had lost consciousness, Vegeta went over to the frightened Bulma and picked her up gently. He did his best to cover her with what remained of her dress, took her to her room, and wrapped her in a sheet. He cradled her against him and stroked her hair as she continued to breathe rapidly while forcing herself not to cry.

Vegeta had sensed her energy spike very slightly as well as her fear. He had been worried, and with good reason. After covering her up, he sat in front of her couch holding her. She started crying and he responded by rocking her gently. He had undergone harsh treatment like that from her father, though he would never tell her, and he understood the fear, humiliation, and torment that came with it. He knew that Bulma would probably never be the same again, but he could at least mitigate her stress level at the moment. Right now he would be there for the little princess like she had been for him ten years prior. It was the least he could do for the one person he cared about more than anyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited on 12/7/2012


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

"You filthy monkey!" Frieza exclaimed when he found Vegeta holding his sleeping, naked daughter.

Vegeta sighed knowing he couldn't explain this one to his tormentor. Luckily, Bulma woke up to the sound of her father's shrill voice.

"It's not what it looks like," Bulma defended weakly though her tears. "Vegeta saved me."

"He saved you?" Frieza asked in shock. His glance shifted to the Saiyan teen that he hated. He knew Vegeta hated him too, so why would he protect his daughter? Bulma nodded and cuddled closer and deeper into Vegeta. His anger dissipated as he saw how weak his daughter looked in that moment. Then Frieza glared at Vegeta. "What happened?" he asked in a demanding tone.

"I felt her ki spike," he explained. "I went to check on her and some newbie was trying to rape her." Vegeta ran his finger through her hair when she tensed. He hadn’t meant to be so blunt, but Frieza needed to know the truth. "I gave him a good beating."

Frieza hated Vegeta with a passion, but was thankful that he was around to stop the soldier. And by the sounds of it, he left him alive. Frieza would just have to correct that and would have to make sure that no one ever her his little girl again.

"When she calms down, leave," Frieza ordered. "I don't want your monkey filth rubbing off on her." With that Frieza left.

Bulma relaxed in Vegeta’s grip again. "Vegeta?"

Vegeta's attention was brought down to the young woman he was holding. "Yes?"

"Thank you." She moved to kiss his cheek before falling back to sleep in his arms. Even though her father was the strongest man alive, she felt safer with Vegeta and Vegeta knew that too.

"Rest now," he ordered. "Tomorrow, I'm going to start training you."

Bulma looked up to him in shock. "You mean it?" she asked hoping he wasn't toying with her.

Vegeta nodded. "When you're done with your job and everyone is asleep, we'll sneak into the training arenas and I will train you to defend yourself properly so that this doesn't happen again. Frieza was foolish to think leaving you untrained would work in your favor."

Bulma jumped up a little in his lap and wrapped her arms around Vegeta's neck. She had always wanted to train with the men, but her father would never let her. Bulma felt like she needed to train, and her father just didn't understand. Now Vegeta was going to risk his life just to teach her how to defend herself while he was away.

"Monkey, let the princess get dressed," Zarbon ordered walking into the room. "Lord Frieza needs to confirm the one who tried to…harm her."

Vegeta nodded and helped Bulma up off the floor. He slid his hand down her arm and flashed her a sympathetic glance. He walked out with Zarbon and left Bulma to clothe herself. Bulma came out of the room minutes later and the three walked into her father's throne room.

"Good, you're all here," Frieza stated. He motioned to the dying man on the ground. "Bulma, is this the man that attempted to violate you?" The look of fear was the only reply he needed. "Turn away."

Bulma didn't have time to process what he meant, nor did she have the time to ask as Vegeta turned her to face him. The picture of flames reflected in his eyes as she heard the desperate yelp from her attacker. Her father had, for the first time in her life, killed in front of her, yet he still didn't want her to see it. The knowledge of the kill alone hurt Bulma even more. Vegeta stood emotionlessly, but let Bulma lean her head against his chest.

Frieza ordered Dodoria into the room to escort Bulma back to her room and keep guard until further notice. He was then alone with Zarbon and Vegeta. Looking to the Saiyan, he knew something had to be said.

"Vegeta," Frieza called to the young Saiyan, "this changes nothing between us."

Vegeta nodded in agreement. "It wasn't meant to."

Frieza sighed at the boy's honesty. "I will reward you, though, for protecting my daughter. What is it that you want?"

"Her," Vegeta answered shocking Frieza. "I want her."

This was shocking. Vegeta was asking for his daughter's hand in marriage and he didn't even know they had been dating, and thankfully still didn't.

"Why?" Frieza asked, wondering if he was doing this to get to him.

Vegeta hesitated. He was about to admit that he cared about her, but he still had his pride, so he changed it up a bit. "I like her. She's intelligent, more so than any other woman I have met. I can actually have a decent conversation with her."

Frieza glared at him, but then smirked. "How about this, Vegeta? If I don't find anyone suitable for her by the time she turns eighteen, then you may marry her. Sound fair?"

Vegeta knew that was the best he was going to get and nodded. After he walked out of the room, Frieza turned to Zarbon.

"How would you like to marry my daughter?" he asked. Frieza was sneaky alright. He was going to shatter Vegeta's hope which was pretty much all the Saiyan had left. As for his daughter, he would never let her marry a monkey. She couldn’t know of her connection to them, either. This was for her own good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited on 12/7/2012


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters

_Two years later…_

Bulma grew to hate her father after that day. Not only had Vegeta told her of the “promise” her father had made but then, hours later, was told she would be marrying Zarbon when she was of age. It wasn’t that Zarbon was a terrible guy, but he was her father’s lap-dog. He would do everything her father wanted. She would be controlled for the rest of her life. No, she would much rather have Vegeta. He was dark, dangerous, even cruel; but he was also kind to her and never lied about who he was. If anything, her father made him the cruel man he was and Bulma didn’t hold it against him.

Vegeta had kept his promise and began training her in secret. She had turned out to be an excellent fighter which surprised Vegeta. They both knew that after seeing her fight he had grown more attracted to her and that made Bulma very happy.

“Good morning, princess,” Vegeta said quietly while meeting up with her. He bowed to her respectfully, but she was the only one he would ever bow to on the ship.

And she bowed back. “Good morning, my prince.” She always hated how her father treated him especially when he had been a prince on his planet. Her father always said the “monkeys” were a filthy and disgusting race and should be treated like dirt, but Bulma respected the Saiyans and she would never let Vegeta forget he was their prince. She knew that it also boosted his ego a bit, which he needed if he was ever going to take her father down.

“So how long now?” Vegeta asked talking about the wedding.

“Two months,” Bulma answered looking away from him. She didn’t like the idea of arranged marriage and she didn’t want to marry Zarbon. Truth be told, she was scared. Two years earlier she was nearly raped, and rumor had it that her father and his men used rape as punishment to their men on many occasions. It disgusted her and it caused her to wonder if Vegeta had suffered that type of punishment. Her fear was confirmed one day when she asked him and he flinched and told her never to ask that again. Why was her father so vile to his men? “I wish I didn’t have to.”

Vegeta caressed her cheek and said, “One day, Bulma. One day we will all be free and we can finally be together. We’ll find a way.”

Bulma smiled and put her hand to his. “Yes, and I hope that day comes quickly. Have you reached your goal yet?”

Vegeta frowned. He had been trying to become the Legendary Super Saiyan that Frieza was so terrified of. “Not yet, but I will.”

Bulma took out a device that she had created. “I made this for you. It’s a gravity simulator, like the ones my father has his men use, but compact with a cloaking device. You can be under up to 500X gravity anywhere you go, even if you are just going to eat.”

Vegeta stared at her before smirking. “You really are a genius, woman. How did you come up with that?”

She shrugged. She never really knew where her ideas came from. She just wanted to help him. It was important to her to stop her tyrant father. One day she would be seen as a traitor among her people, but she would rather be seen as a traitor than some obedient little twit that did everything she was told. It wasn’t in her nature. It never would be.

Vegeta hooked the simulator to his spandex pants and turned it on. After he set the gravity to 20X gravity, ten more than his home planet, he activated the cloaking device. Feeling the weight pulling him down, he smirked. Yes, this would help him greatly.

He looked over to Bulma with admiration lighting his eyes. Over the years, he was still impressed with the fact that she wanted to help him take her father down. The man had raised her. It made him wonder why she would want to get involved. Vegeta was planning on her surviving his rebellion, but he was taking down her kingdom. She owed him nothing. It wasn’t like it was her planet that had been destroyed. Vegeta, at this point, had already believed Frieza had something to do with it, but he would never know for sure.

They sensed Zarbon heading their way, and Vegeta went to hide while Bulma sprayed her chemical in the air around her. He came from around the corner and grinned at her.

“Hello, darling,” Zarbon greeted. Bulma just smiled. Inside, she was really ready to be sick any time he was near her.

“Good morning, dear,” she said hoping she didn’t sound too bitter.

He looked around for a moment. “I thought I sensed the monkey around here?” he said not responding to her half-hearted greeting.

“We passed each other in the hall earlier,” Bulma lied, “but it was just for a second.”

“Filth like that shouldn’t have the honor of walking in your presence,” Zarbon said. Vegeta nearly growled from the spot he was hiding, and Bulma frowned.

“Maybe, but aren’t reptiles even lower in the animal kingdom?” Bulma asked sounding very innocent. Zarbon thought that she didn’t realize she was insulting him, so he let it go. Bulma was too sweet for that.

“Not exactly,” he muttered. “I’ll be seeing you tonight at dinner.” Zarbon left and seemed very irritated. Vegeta had to force himself not to laugh at his pissed of expression when he passed his spot. The girl’s insult cut the lizard deep and they all knew it, Bulma included. Bulma and Vegeta smirked at each other before going their separate ways. They knew they would meet up anyway later.

Bulma ended up at her father’s throne room.

“I cannot be sure, sir,” she heard Zarbon say to Frieza. “She may still be with him, but I never see them together.”

Frieza frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I should have destroyed that monkey the first time he laid his filthy hands on her,” Frieza stated. “I should have destroyed all of them as I did their planet.” Bulma held in a gasp. If she had made any noise, her father would know she was there. “That will be all, Zarbon.”

Bulma ran as fast as she could. She wasn’t running to her room, Vegeta’s, or the other Saiyans. She wasn’t running anywhere at all. Eventually, she ended up crashing into Nappa. Nappa caught her and looked down at her fearful and panicked face.

“Bulma, what’s wrong?” he asked noticing the tears in her eyes.

“Please don’t hate me,” she begged falling on her hands and knees. “I don’t want to be alone again.”

Raditz and Vegeta were not too far behind him and overheard.

“Bulma, what’s going on?” Vegeta asked her. He got down on his knees to be at eye level with her, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She was feeling guilty and scared, scared that her one true friend would hate her if he knew.

“I’m sorry, Prince Vegeta,” she said almost diplomatically through her tears. “But my father…he…your planet…he destroyed it.” She bent down even lower and cried even more. She was expecting Vegeta to walk away and leave her. When she felt his hand on her back, she looked up. He wasn’t glaring at her, nor did he seem angry.

“I know,” was all he said. “I suspected it a while back. I could never confirm it, though.”

Bulma blinked her tears away and looked at him. She didn’t understand. He had known, yet he still wanted her. He still treated her with respect and kindness. He kissed her, the daughter of the man who destroyed his home. Didn’t he understand that her father killed his people and family and still tortured him every day? How could he think of her as anything but vile?

“How can you not hate me?” she asked. Vegeta didn’t answer, but Nappa did.

“You haven’t done anything wrong, princess,” he told her. “Your father is the one to blame and you are the only one who shows us kindness on this piece of floating trash. How could we hate you?”

“Besides,” Raditz interjected, “you’ve been helping us by healing us when you’re told not to. That’s gutsy and, honestly, really Saiyan-like.”

Bulma smiled. She liked it when they said she was like them. She never felt like she belonged in her father’s world and she never would. But the Saiyans, she felt like she belonged with them every day. They never treated her like a child or a woman (well, her father’s idea of a woman), but as an equal. They allowed her to train and speak her mind. They were the only people who would ever know the real her. Maybe she wasn’t so different from them after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited on 12/7/2012


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

Bulma was happy, very happy. Everything was going smoothly in the Saiyans training, thanks in part to her new devices. Soon her father would be defeated and she still had a month before her wedding to Zarbon. She had been dreading it for the last few years. She’d rather belong to anyone than him. Actually, she’d rather not belong to anyone, but compliment them as their other half. She wanted to be seen as an equal and not be a wallflower as her father had kept her.

It made her happy that Vegeta had gotten stronger using the portable gravity simulator. Her father was none the wiser to his soldier’s increase in strength. It was his loss, though, since the Saiyans were not as loyal as they led him to believe. The three Saiyans had been plotting his downfall for a long time now and even let Bulma help them with some of the details. At first Nappa and Raditz were concerned about getting the princess too involved in their plans. They never doubted her loyalty to them, but loyalty to one’s family is greater, and they were hesitant to fully trust her. Vegeta placed all of his trust in her, and it was harder to argue with him. When no one came for them, the other two Saiyans began to trust Bulma as well. She had become an honorary Saiyan warrior, and she lived up to her expectations.

They knew a lot about what Frieza had done. They knew he had destroyed Planet Vegeta, and they knew that he had enslaved their prince, an elite, and a low-class warrior with great potential. One thing they did not know was what Frieza's plans were for them, and the only way to get that information was to take it from his file safe. Bulma, of course, already had a plan for getting in and out of there without getting any of them in trouble with her father. She would go herself.

"Oh, princess, what are you doing in here?" a guard at the file vault asked her.

Bulma sighed and laced her hands together daintily. "I just have a lot on my mind and this was the only place I could come to think without my father or fiancé showing up."

The guard nodded in understanding and left the room to wait outside. He empathized with the young princess. Bulma had gone in the vault to think sometimes when she was younger, so it didn't raise any red flags. Bulma waited for the guard to shut her in, then walked over to the S files, and replaced the folder on Saiyans with an empty folder. Her father wouldn’t even notice it missing, and she would return it later. She stuffed the folder into her hidden bag and walked out of the vault with a bright smile on her face.

"Thank you so much, sir. I feel much better now. I needed that time." Bulma skipped away happily and the guard waved to her. She was a good kid going through a rough time. Everyone knew she didn't want to marry Zarbon, but Frieza had ordered it and no one, not even his daughter, could avoid his orders. The guard reflected on this and came to a conclusion. Compare to Frieza’s daughter, they all had it easy. Frieza didn’t always interfere in their lives.

* * *

"So do you think she'll be able to do it, Vegeta?" Nappa asked unsurely. Sure he trusted Bulma, but he didn't know if she could trick her father's guards without giving them away. She seemed innocent, but if the Saiyans could see her rebellious side, couldn’t everyone else? How could Vegeta act so calmly about this?

"Of course she ca-hey, what are those?" Vegeta asked pointing to a soldier getting beaten by Zarbon. He was wearing the same bracelets Bulma had always been wearing. She had told him that Frieza had said they were her mother's and to never take them off. They would keep her protected and her mother close to her heart. Now he was seeing the exact same bracelets on another getting massacred by Zarbon. Some protection.

"They’re called ki restraints, Prince Vegeta," Raditz told him. Vegeta looked to his comrade aghast at hearing such a statement. "Frieza used them on me once. They trap your natural ki with in your body and limits how the body can defend itself. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Vegeta lied, shrugging. He couldn’t help but panic on the inside, though. Why would Frieza purposely trap his daughter's energy inside of her and then lie to her? He never let her train, so her energy increasing would not be so dramatic. The restraints actually made her an easy target, if it weren’t for her father being the top dog on the ship. Something didn't add up with this and Vegeta was going to figure out what Frieza was hiding one way or another, especially if it had to do with Bulma.

* * *

Later on in the evening, Bulma came to his room with the files he wanted. She placed them down on the table in front of him in a rushed motion. "Here, Vegeta. I would stay and read it with you, but I have to get to my marriage classes."

Vegeta raised his eyebrow at her. "Marriage classes?" he asked. It sounded like the stupidest thing he had heard.

Bulma scoffed. "I know. It's so stupid." She looked over to him with sad eyes and sighed. "Vegeta, how does a Saiyan choose a wife?"

Vegeta was slightly taken aback by her question, but he would answer her the best he could. "Well, according to what Nappa has taught me about our race, we don't really marry. We mate." Bulma blushed knowing what he meant. Vegeta continued, ignoring his own blush. "Saiyans chose their mates with just a few criteria in mind: they were strong enough to carry a child, they were strong enough to defend themselves and the child, and they wouldn't hold the male back from his duty. But there was also some emotional attachment and undying loyalty as well; however, I have never felt that, ever." He knew that was a lie. He had an emotional connection to Bulma and would always stay loyal, despite her being an Ice-jin, but she wasn't a Saiyan so it didn't count. "Why are you asking?"

Bulma frowned and her anger started to rise. "Because my father says Saiyans are 'filthy monkeys' yet you are more practical in your choosing and more respectful of the women you choose. In these classes, I am taught how to behave as a wife. There is no mutual understanding or feelings involved. My duty is to be a perfect little woman and be obedient to my husband. I am taught how to act with him when we are alone and with his friends. There's no intimacy, just duty and false loyalty. It's like they are telling me who to be and I hate it. I hate being controlled. My father is wrong. You are more advanced than his pathetic ways."

Vegeta smirked at the compliment but then frowned. He hated the idea that they were trying to take her fighting spirit away from her. He would never force her into acting a certain way. As long as she respected him, he just didn't care how she acted. Besides, it was more fun to see her fighting side rather than her obedient side. It challenged him, and he loved it.

"I have to go," she said sadly, but before she left, Vegeta pulled her to him and kissed her roughly. He tickled her lips with his tongue before she part her lips for him. It was by far the most passionate kiss they had ever shared together and they were both putting all of their emotions and fears into it. When they parted, both their eyes were sparkling in awe over the power they had just felt in that one kiss. She gave him a quick hug before running off to her class. If she was late, it would mean trouble for her later.

Vegeta sat down on a chair mesmerized by the feeling on his lips and how they tingled even after Bulma had left. He then started to look through all of Frieza's papers on the Saiyans. He finally came across documents with information on Nappa, Raditz, and himself, but what left him in shock was that there was another Saiyan Frieza had information on in this folder.

_Bulma?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited 12/8/2012


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters

“You needed something, Prince Vegeta?” Nappa asked quietly coming into Vegeta’s room. He noted the angered expression on his prince’s face, as well as the struggle he was having to not explode at that moment.

Vegeta just stared at a wall and slid the folder over to Nappa. Nappa had known the prince his entire life and could tell that he was pissed about something. The question was what. The older Saiyan picked up the folder that was passed his way.

Nappa started going through all the documentation about planet Vegeta, but they had known of Frieza destroying their home world for a while now. Nappa knew that couldn’t be it. He kept going and found files on each of the remaining Saiyans and when he reached the last paper, he knew what had enraged the prince.

“Oh my God,” he said in a whisper. He read the document carefully, multiple times. From what he was reading, Bulma had been taken from Planet Vegeta when she was a baby and had been kept in the dark about her true self. Her powers were kept at bay by ki restraints that she believed to be harmless bracelets left to her from her mother when she passed away. Nappa was furious. How could Frieza do something like this to a little girl? It now made sense why he didn’t want Vegeta and Bulma together, though. That would mean the possibility of more full-blooded Saiyans running around. But it was just fucked up.

Nappa looked over to Vegeta who had his fists clenched. All these years, he and Bulma had been close, in a relationship behind her father’s back, and the whole time she was a Saiyan and none of them knew. It had to be a shot to Vegeta’s pride knowing that he was with the last female Saiyan all along while never knowing. He was their prince and probably felt like he should have known, especially with the connection the two of them had shared. “Where do we go from here?” Nappa asked carefully, not wanting to enrage Vegeta. He knew things were about to get crazy, possibly worse now that they knew Frieza’s best kept secret.

“You may tell Raditz,” Vegeta replied evenly. “But I will tell Bulma.”

Nappa nodded in agreement. Bulma needed to know the truth, but it had to come from Vegeta. She trusted him more than anyone else on this ship and vice versa. If he broke the news to her, then he could handle however she reacted. She would feel safe with him, and maybe accept the news a whole lot quicker. “Yes, sir,” Nappa said before leaving the room. He needed to let Raditz know right away. There was one more Saiyan in the universe than they could have hoped for.

* * *

Later, Bulma was walking back to Vegeta’s room in the middle of the night. She was so angry over what had happened during her class. Seething, she thought back to the session.

_“You are to serve you husband and his colleagues during social gatherings without complaint. If they say or do anything derogatory to your person, you must wait until they leave and tell your husband in private.”_

_“Why not just ask them politely not to touch me?” Bulma asked. She wasn’t sure how she’d react if anyone touched her inappropriately. She still wasn’t over her almost rape from two years prior._

_“It would be showing disrespect to your husband and the other men. Your duty is to honor you husband.”_

_“And what if he doesn’t do anything about it?” Bulma asked in frustration._

_“Then you take it like a woman and suck it up.”_

_Bulma glared at the instructor her father had hired from their home planet behind his back. If someone treated her disrespectfully, she would never just take it. She had way too much pride to let a man walk all over her and defend her when she could defend herself._

She knocked on Vegeta’s door lightly, but he didn’t answer so she just walked in knowing he wouldn’t mind her intrusion. She sensed his energy in the shower of his bathroom and realized he hadn’t even heard her quiet knock. Looking over to the table, she saw the files she had gathered and decided to catch up in reading them. By now, he must have seen them, and he would need to discuss what more they needed of her.

She went through everything on the Saiyans and then found that paperwork that had all of them in a bad mood.

Bulma gasped when she read her name on the file and saw a picture of herself as a baby with a pretty blue tail she obviously no longer possessed. “I’m a…I’m a…” She fell back into the seat when Vegeta came out of the bathroom drying his hair.

He stared at her with wide eyes as he didn’t realize she was even in there. He hadn’t even sensed her ki because of those damn ki restraints. Vegeta narrowed his eyes at the offensive metal before he saw what she was looking at. The Saiyan prince sighed, not loud enough for him to draw attention to himself. He had planned on telling her gently, not letting her finding out this way.

“I’m a Saiyan?” she finally got out as she stared at the documents. The hurt she was feeling was evident in her eyes.

“Yes,” Vegeta said making her jump. She hadn’t heard him come out of the bathroom.

Bulma blushed at the sight of him in a towel, but tried to ignore it. “I never knew,” she admitted, averting his gaze.

Vegeta nodded. “None of us did; although, you always did act like a Saiyan. _I_ should have been able to tell.”

Bulma shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe he’s been keeping this from me my entire life,” she whispered. She looked over to Vegeta, finally, needing to know more about her father’s vendetta with the Saiyans. “Is that why he didn’t want me to be with you?”

“Probably,” Vegeta growled. He hated Frieza now more than ever for keeping this secret. There were four Saiyans left, maybe more if you count the ones sent to other planets as children, instead of three like they had originally believed. He and Bulma would have probably been mated by now had he not interfered in their relationship. Vegeta was still trying to wrap his mind around this whole thing.

Vegeta took Bulma’s hands and put his own on the ki restraints. “Can you create a device to hide our ki, when we all train together, so Frieza doesn’t find out?” Bulma nodded solemnly. “Do that, and then we will remove these stupid restraints and get you some replacements that won’t block your ki. He will never know that we know or he might try something.”

“I know he has lied, but do you think there is a chance that my father…Frieza…cares about me?” Vegeta didn’t want to answer her. Bulma looked a little torn up about this whole mess, but Vegeta did not want to lie to her and decorate Frieza’s motives up in any way.

“Frieza cares about Frieza, but the fact that he has kept you alive all these years means that part of him does care about you, but that doesn’t change anything. He has still lied and kept one of our own from us.”

“You’re right,” she responded, smiling at the fact that Vegeta had referred to her as one of them. “It doesn’t.” She turned to him with her eyes full of determination. “I want to help. I want to fight.”

Vegeta smirked at her. _Definitely a Saiyan_ , he though. “And you shall,” he replied caressing her arm with his tail. His expression reflected hers, determination and vengeance dancing in their irises. Frieza had gone too far this time, and he would pay dearly for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited on 12/9/2012


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters

“I did it,” Bulma said happily to Vegeta when they met up in his room.

He looked at her with a confused expression. “Did what?” He hadn’t asked her of anything more since she had created the ki shield a month earlier.

“I got the wedding postponed by another few months,” she replied with a prideful grin.

Vegeta was amazed that she had yet again been able to put of the wedding to Zarbon. “How?” he asked, his shock showing through.

“I wouldn’t let go of my pride and my teacher says I need more ‘education,’” she said bitterly. “But hey, another five months of time. We have to be stronger by then, right?”

Vegeta smirked and nodded. He was getting closer to ascending; he could feel it. Thanks to Bulma, they had the ki shields to prevent anyone on the ship from sensing them training. It turned out that Bulma had the strength of a first-class Saiyan, which is why he could still feel little fluctuation in her ki despite the restraints. It was giving them an unexpected edge against Frieza. They kept the shields stored in their gravity simulators that they all constantly had set to 250X gravity at this point. She also made these communication devices. They were similar to scouters, but were more durable, smaller, and even though they didn’t read ki levels (which they could sense anyway), they could turn invisible just like the gravity simulators.

“We will get out of this,” Vegeta answered. “I know we will.”

Bulma walked over to him and hugged him, and he returned it playing with her hair. It was moments like these when she was truly happy. Vegeta never lied to her and respected her, which was more than she could say from _some_ people. Vegeta tensed when he felt something poke him in the stomach. He looked down at her and saw a tail.

“When-?” He was about to start ranting questions but Bulma stopped him.

“It grew back today. I’ve been wrapping it around my waist like you do and kept in under my shirt. Isn’t this great?”

Vegeta smirked and started stroking her tail gently causing her to purr. “You tell me,” he said smugly. She smirked and took the opportunity to do the same to his tail.

Vegeta let out a slight growl before taking Bulma in his arms and moving over to the couch. He sat her on his lap and the two started kissing, gently at first but soon becoming more aggressive as each Saiyan fought for dominance. Neither wanted to lose. Bulma ended up straddling Vegeta as his hands caressed her butt. She squeaked in surprise when he gave it a soft squeeze, allowing for Vegeta to take control. They both felt each other’s hands on their skin underneath their shirts, but stopped when Nappa barged into the room.

The two Saiyan teens looked to Nappa with a blush coating Bulma cheeks and a mild glare plastered on Vegeta’s face signaling that he was irritated with the interruption. They were both surprised that they hadn’t sensed him coming, and he was equally shocked when he found the two of them making out in the dark.

“You’re very lucky I wasn’t Zarbon or Frieza,” he stated cautiously, not wanting to incur Vegeta’s wrath.

Bulma blushed an even brighter red, but Vegeta kept his cool. “What do you need, Nappa?” he huffed.

“Look here,” Nappa said handing Vegeta a document while trying to ignore the fact that Bulma was still straddling their prince.

“We are being sent on a mission?” Vegeta asked. Nappa nodded.

“Now?” Bulma questioned. This wasn’t what they had planned. Her father hadn’t given the Saiyans a mission in a couple months, nor were they scheduled for any since all of the latest jobs were minor ones. “Does he suspect anything?”

Nappa shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe, but these were delivered to me by Zarbon.”

Vegeta scoffed. “That fool…probably just feels intimidated by us. How long is the mission?”

“We have a month travel each way and two months on the planet,” Nappa explained.

“That’s four months!” Bulma shouted. “We only have five.”

Vegeta smirked at Bulma then. “Maybe we should finally explain some of the PTO to you. When Nappa says month, he means foremonth, meaning two weeks instead of four, meaning two full months, not four.”

“Oh,” Bulma said while blushing. She didn’t know all of the technical stuff involving her father’s business. “But, that’s still a long time.”

“I’ve been away longer,” he reminded her. Bulma still didn’t look happy about being left alone.

“I’m going to go,” Nappa said sensing that things were about to get emotionally intense for the two teens. He quietly closed the door as the two stared into each other’s eyes.

“I’m afraid,” she admitted to Vegeta who was still holding onto her.

“Of what?” he asked rubbing the insides of her thighs. It was never proper for a Saiyan to admit fear, but he would make the exception for her.

“That my father will marry me off when you’re gone.”

Vegeta nodded. It made sense for her to think this way, but he decided to tell her something to ease her worries for their future.

“A piece of paper stating that you are married means nothing to a Saiyan. Mating is different. It is an unbreakable bond formed by exchanging energy and memories with one another. Even if you have a ‘legal document’ stating that you belong to Zarbon, the two of us will still be able to mate in the future.”

“Really?” Vegeta nodded in affirmation. Bulma flashed a sincere smile his way. “I think I like being a Saiyan better than an Ice-jin.” She kissed him gently on the lips and curled into him. She had no plans of returning to her room tonight.

* * *

_Zarbon was angry. He had been spying on Bulma. He could never hear what she was saying, but he had seen her with Vegeta way too often for his liking. That was the real reason that the wedding was being postponed. Zarbon was only marrying Bulma because Frieza had asked him to in order to keep his precious daughter away from Vegeta, but he would not marry her if she had been doing anything with the monkey. Zarbon didn’t really care for her in any way, other than being Frieza’s daughter, but he was feeling possessive over her since she had been promise to him._

_Besides, she was damaged; not in the sense that she had been tainted in any way, but after the attack she had gone through, anytime Zarbon tried to kiss her or get close to her, she would flinch and push him away. He understood; he really did, but causing other people that pain, he couldn’t help but feel she could be a little stronger about it. He was unaware of what she and Vegeta did behind closed doors, and if he had known, he would have probably pushed her further just to show her who was in control._

_What didn’t get past him was that Vegeta was a threat to him as long as he was on the ship, which is why he asked Frieza to send the Saiyans on the first mission available. He needed time to win over Bulma before the wedding, meaning he needed some time ALONE with her._

_“It’s a quick mission, Zarbon,” Frieza warned. “You have four foremonth to get my daughter’s mind off that Saiyan. If you fail, the wedding will be off and I will take matters into my own hands.”_

_Zarbon bowed down to his master. “Yes, Lord Frieza. I will do everything in my power.” The only question was what could he really do?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited 12/9/2012


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters

“Good morning, my darling,” Zarbon greeted hugging Bulma from behind.

Bulma flinched at his touch. It was strange that when Vegeta acted the same way with her she felt safe, but when Zarbon did she felt nothing but fear. She had become more jumpy and tense around Zarbon and her father ever since she found out the truth. Bulma even felt safer around Nappa and Raditz who she barely knew, but feared the man who raised her. She didn’t know what he would do to her if he found out she knew.

“Hello,” she said meekly attempting to find her voice. Bulma mentally cursed herself for showing fear to the enemy. She was a prideful warrior, not a terrified female.

Zarbon sighed. “Please, don’t fear me, Bulma,” he pleaded while planting soft kisses on her temples and nuzzling into her neck. That didn’t help Bulma relax much. He sighed again, this time in frustration. “Why do you fear me so much? We will soon be married.”

Bulma forced herself to relax slightly. “I fear all of you,” she admitted reluctantly. She was hoping that if she said that he’d let her go…she was wrong.

“Not the monkey,” Zarbon retorted bitterly.

“Especially him,” Bulma lied. It was obvious that Zarbon had seen her with Vegeta if he was acting this way regarding her Saiyan lover. She didn’t want Zarbon to report back to her father that she had spending time with Vegeta, or he would definitely be suspicious. “But keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?”

Zarbon was surprised, in a good way. He never thought the innocent Bulma would have the mental capacity to spy on the Saiyans. She was in fact a monkey herself, but he had to admit he was impressed with the turn of events. “Interesting,” he whispered with a sick grin on his face. “Getting close to the monkeys using you innocence and natural charm…I like that idea.”

Zarbon never saw her fist coming before he was on the ground gripping his now bruised jaw.

“I am more than a pretty face, Zarbon” Bulma said angrily. “Remember that.”

Zarbon rubbed his jaw wondering how Bulma had gotten so strong when she had not been permitted to train and was wearing key restraints, but he shrugged it off along with her attitude. Bulma wasn’t smart enough to sneak around, at least in his mind, and she would never find out about the ki restraints. He decided to get back to the task at hand and question her about his rival. “So have you learned anything from the fallen prince?”

Bulma refrained from glaring at him for his blatant disrespect and nodded. “He has told me he hates my father and wants to take him down, but has not yet said how he plans to do this.”

 _So nothing useful,_ Zarbon thought, _yet._

Zarbon nodded to Bulma. “Just be careful with that monkey. He can be very vicious. If he attempts to harm you in any way, you are to tell me or your father immediately. We’ll make sure the problem…goes away.”

Bulma glared at Zarbon’s retreating form. _You wish, asshole._ Bulma then too retreated to her room to continue her training in secret. While the boys were gone, she still had to focus on getting herself stronger. She would need to be stronger, for her people and for her prince.

* * *

Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz were resting after fighting non-stop for a week. They knew they would be done much earlier than Frieza had predicted, so they could afford a break. The ice lizard had underestimated them yet again. They had already wiped out two-thirds of the population.

Vegeta had difficulty sleeping as he heard the snores of his two comrades. Purging had always been a de-stressor for Vegeta, but now he felt haunted by an unbelievable feeling of guilt. He had earlier been forced to kill someone that had looked so much like Bulma. She had been stronger than both Nappa and Raditz and he didn’t have another choice; but seriously, how could a female of another species resemble Bulma so perfectly? This was messing with his head. For the first time since working for Frieza, he didn’t want to complete the assignment, but in order to keep himself and the other three remaining Saiyans safe from Frieza’s wrath, he had to. Even if he had to lie awake at night or live a life plagued with nightmares, he would suck it up and do what was best for his comrades and his future mate. He continued to remind himself that Bulma was safe on Frieza’s ship, just as long as the tyrant did not find out about her treachery.

* * *

Frieza had not found out the truth. Instead, he was amused with what Zarbon had told him. So his daughter wanted to get in on the action of bringing down the monkeys. This was too perfect. Not only was she acting more like an Ice-jin now, but she would end up bringing down the Saiyan race, her true race, and Frieza couldn’t wait to rub that in the fallen prince’s face.

“Zarbon, bring Bulma here,” Frieza ordered vehemently. “I have finally found a use for her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited 12/9/2012


	12. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters

“You wanted to see me, father?” Bulma asked standing before Frieza in his throne room.

“Yes, daughter. Zarbon told me that you wanted to assist in bringing down the monkeys. Is this true?” He couldn’t keep the sound of amusement from his voice. Bulma inwardly cringed, knowing that he knew she was a Saiyan. He was probably completely giddy about her desire to take out her own race.

“Yes, father, it is,” she lied convincingly.

Frieza smirked which made Bulma feel a little uneasy. Her stomach dropped, but she refused to let her fears show. Instead, she waited patiently for whatever order her father was about to give. She could have never mentally prepared herself for what her father was about to ask.

“Then I want you to do something for me,” Frieza said evilly.

“Yes, father?” she said, her voice almost about to crack with her nerves.

Frieza motioned for Zarbon to come forward. Zarbon stepped forward with a chest that he opened revealing a small, glass bottle. “This vial contains a virus that only affects the Saiyan heart,” Frieza explained to her. “When next you see Vegeta, I want you to find some way to infect him with it. Can you do this?”

“Yes, I can,” she replied while quickly thinking up a solution.

Frieza nodded in respond and motioned for Zarbon to close the chest. Zarbon complied and put the chest in Bulma’s arms. She looked to his smirking face uneasily, him blowing her a kiss. In her mind she was screaming to take him down. “Now, Bulma,” Frieza called drawing her attention back to him, “there is no cure to this virus, so I want you to be very careful with it.”

“Why should it matter? I am not a Saiyan, so it can’t affect me, right?”

She tried to gage her father’s reaction to her seemingly innocent question. If Frieza was worried, it didn’t show. “It’s better to be safe rather than sorry,” he said calmly. “Who knows what kinds of mutations have arisen.” He then took out a bracelet and motioned for Bulma to come forward. “I want you to wear this, Bulma. When the other Saiyans are around, it will activate and we will hear everything they’re saying.”

 _A bug,_ Bulma thought in frustration. _Just freaking perfect._

“You may run along now,” Frieza said dismissing her.

“Yes, father, but one question.”

Frieza waited, but she didn’t say anything. He had no idea why she was waiting for permission to speak. “Go on,” he pressed.

“When you said ‘other Saiyans,’” Bulma asked, treading lightly on her words, “what did you mean? Are there more Saiyans?”

“No, daughter, there isn’t,” Frieza stated calmly. Bulma forced a smile and nodded, then took her leave.

Frieza’s calm attitude turned sour after she left. He had almost slipped twice. Maybe now that she was older it was the secret trying to weasel its way out of him. Well, that was fine. He only needed to keep quiet for the next month or so. Then, when Vegeta was on his deathbed, he would tell him about Bulma. Vegeta would die knowing that he was defeated and murdered by the last Saiyan female. Then he would dispose of Nappa and Raditz and Bulma would marry Zarbon. Even if Bulma found out her true origins, this made it clear that she was more Ice-jin at heart than Saiyan. Things were falling into place.

* * *

Bulma got to her room and quickly locked herself inside. She was beyond pissed that her father would ask her to do something this horrible to Vegeta, her prince and future mate. Vegeta had admitted to her before he left that he intended on taking her as his mate. She smiled at the memory. He had been uncharacteristically romantic in his declaration as she bid him farewell at the docking ports. He hadn’t even cared that Nappa and Raditz had been waiting on him to leave. Unfortunately, now she had this dreadful virus in her possession, and knowing what would happen upon Vegeta’s return was sullying the wonders of her memory.

Well, she had about three weeks before they returned. Maybe by then she could create an antidote for the virus. She knew Vegeta would make her follow through with her orders to keep her from being found out. She never would, though, not without a cure. Bulma would never risk his life like that. If he died, and by her hand, she would never forgive herself. It would destroy her inside and out. It was then that she knew what she had to do. 

_Well, time to pull some all-nighters._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited 12/10/2012


	13. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters

She had done it. After a week of all-nighters, Bulma had finally created an antidote for the heart virus. She was completely drained, but she didn’t care. Everything was going to be okay. Even if Vegeta did get infected, she had a way to help him recover almost instantly. She was so happy in her discovery that she didn’t even hear Zarbon enter the med bay. When he spoke up, she managed to subtly put everything away.

“Bulma,” Zarbon said in a business-like manner. “The Saiyans have returned.”

Inside Bulma was screaming to be reunited with Vegeta, but she played innocent and tilted her head in confusion. “So much ahead of schedule?” she pondered out loud.

“Yeah, well, I guess the population on planet Gnathos wasn’t a match for them. I hope you’re ready for your mission.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Zarbon,” Bulma said holding up the wretched vial, “I’ve got it covered.”

Zarbon smirked at her. “Good.” Within minutes, he was next to her, whispering seductively in her ear. “When the monkey collapses and gets brought in here, come to my room for a…special…celebration.” He whispered in her ear between placing kisses on her jaw. She shivered in discomfort, but Zarbon took it as her shivering in pleasure and kissed down her neck even further to her collarbone. Bulma’s hand stopped him from moving down to her chest.

“This is hardly appropriate behavior for two un-wed beings,” Bulma stated innocently. “Please don’t make another advance until after the ceremony.”

Zarbon nodded and left Bulma who ran to her room for a shower. Her skin felt like it was painfully melting off her skin. She was disgusted with what had just happened. _Okay, secret or not, next time that pig touches me, I’m blasting his brains out,_ she thought to herself as she scrubbed each place she remembered feeling his lips raw.

* * *

After her shower, she got dressed and got a pad of paper and wrote many messages to the other Saiyans on it. She needed to tell them what was going on, but her father had her bugged when in their presence. This was the only way to communicate the issue.

Nappa and Raditz saw Bulma and were about to greet her when they were stopped by her message.

**Address me as Princess Bulma. I don’t have time to explain.**

“Hello, Princess Bulma,” Nappa greeted uneasily. “To what do we own the pleasure?”

“Hello, Nappa. Hello, Raditz,” Bulma said softly. “I was wondering where Vegeta was.”

**Say “training” if he’s in his room. Say “his room” if he’s training.**

“He’s training,” Raditz lied. He looked at Bulma strangely and noted the terror in her eyes. Something was worrying him.

Bulma nodded solemnly. “Oh, well then I will talk to him later then. Thank you.” Nappa and Raditz watched as their fellow Saiyan took off for Vegeta’s room. They could only hope that the two could figure out whatever was going on together.

* * *

Bulma hurried off to Vegeta’s room rummaging through her papers. She halted outside of Vegeta’s room, but didn’t enter. He must have sensed her and opened the door wearing a smirk. He was about to say something, but she stopped him by holding out her had as a signal to wait. She held out another notepad that she had been scribbling during her run.

**Don’t talk. I’m bugged.**

Vegeta nodded and stepped out of the way to let her in. She put a notepad down for him on the table and a pen.

 **We have a problem,** she wrote.

Aside from the obvious…what?

Bulma silently sighed and frowned, turning her notepad to face him. **Zarbon accused me of spending too much time with you like we feared. I told him I was spying on you. He told my…I mean Frieza and he has given me an assignment to kill you with a heart virus that only affects Saiyans.**

Vegeta grimaced, but he wrote, If Frieza gave you the order, then you have to follow through.

 **I knew you would say that,** Bulma wrote, shaking her head, **which is why I spent the last week creating a cure for it. I succeeded. Even if I infect you with the virus, I will be able to cure you, hands down.**

Have I told you that you’re a genius? Vegeta asked with an arrogant smirk.

Bulma smiled at his compliment. **Not recently, but it’s nice to hear.**

I missed you, Bulma.

Before Bulma could write anything else to express her shock, she was in Vegeta’s arms. He, the mighty Prince of Saiyans, was cuddling with her on the couch. It took her by surprise to feel his body curled around hers and feeling his heart racing as if he were afraid of something. Something had to have happened while he was away, because he never acted this was with her. Vegeta was holding onto her desperately as if he was afraid to let her go. Bulma decided to go with it, though, and allowed herself to finally get some sleep after all of those all-nighters.

Vegeta stared into the darkness of his room as Bulma drifted off to sleep. He hadn’t been able to relax since he had gotten back. Visions of what had taken place on Gnathos had not yet left him. He was still trying to convince himself that Bulma was still here, alive and well, in his arms and not dead on that planet. He hadn’t harmed her and he never would; no matter what, he knew her life meant more to him than any other.

 _Sleep well, my princess,_ he thought silently as he kissed her temple. _We have a long and dangerous road ahead of us. No matter what, I promise to protect you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited 12/10/2012


	14. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

Vegeta told Raditz and Nappa about Frieza's plan for him and neither were happy about it.

"Vegeta, you can't let her infect you!" Raditz exclaimed earning him a slap to the head from Nappa.

"Prince Vegeta wouldn't let her do this if there wasn't a way out," Nappa explained.

"You are correct," Vegeta lied. They didn't need to know that he would have ordered her to follow Frieza's orders, antidote or not. "She developed a cure. Frieza will see me infected and let her off the hook and then I'll make a miraculous recovery and convince him that the virus is useless against us."

Nappa leaned back on his couch and chuckled. "Good plan. That lizard won't know what hit him."

Raditz still looked a little unsure, but he would have to trust his prince. If he couldn't trust the leader of his race, who could he trust?

* * *

"Princess Bulma," Vegeta greeted after walking into the med bay.

"Oh Vegeta," she said before mouthing the words "my prince." "I was hoping you'd stop by. I didn't get to see you when you returned." Both of them smirked at her lie. "How was the purge?"

"Now, princess, you know I can't tell you that," Vegeta teased.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Fine,” she said wryly. “So what brings you here?"

"I came to request that you join me for dinner tonight," Vegeta stated diplomatically.

Bulma smiled. "I would like that."

Vegeta took Bulma's hand and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Until then, my princess," he whispered into her ear. Bulma’s mouth opened to speak, but before she could, he was gone.

* * *

Zarbon held back a growl as he and Frieza listened to the conversation. He may not have really cared about Bulma in that way, but he was still engaged to her and the stupid Saiyan monkey was undermining him.

"Don't worry, Zarbon," Frieza said noticing his right-hand man’s irritation. "She is just going along with him so she can infect him with the virus. Soon, we won't have to deal with him anymore."

"Yes, Lord Frieza." However, Zarbon still wasn't convinced. He would be watching the two very carefully from now on. He didn’t trust Vegeta and his trust in the princess was also wavering. The blue alien was starting to question the freedom he gave Bulma over the years. When she was younger, it was adorable. Now, it was becoming a problem, and Zarbon did not like that.

* * *

Bulma showed up to Vegeta's quarters with many notepads for communicating with each other.

"Good evening, Vegeta," Bulma greeted respectfully. **Good evening, Prince Vegeta.**

"Welcome princess," Vegeta said motioning for her to enter the room. He took a notepad from her and wrote his own message. **You don't need to use my title.**

"I am surprised how clean your room is after weeks of being gone." **But you are my prince. My father can't take that away from you and I won't either.**

Vegeta chuckled. "I'm a perfectionist." **Fair enough, princess.**

Bulma blushed as she watched Vegeta take out a bottle of wine he bought from a trade planet on the way back from his mission. "What's that?" Bulma asked.

"Just some spirits we acquired on the way back." Vegeta poured two glasses and Bulma wondered how he was able to pull this together. "Only the best for you, my princess."

 **You need to stop calling me that,** she scribbled on the pad. Vegeta forced back a chuckle at Bulma's blushing face.

Vegeta walked into the miniature kitchen in his room and took out some chicken looking things. He wrote down on the pad, **You need to put the virus vector in my glass. They will hear me moving things in the kitchen. It's the perfect opportunity.**

Vegeta set up the plates with their meals while watching her hesitate with adding the virus to the glass. Their eyes met and Vegeta nodded at her. She closed her eyes and added a few drops to the wine.

He took that time to move the plates to the table. "You look beautiful tonight…Bulma."

"Thank you, Vegeta," Bulma said trying not to sound worried as he moved to pick up the glass.

"Cheers." He clinked his glass to hers and then drank some. Bulma felt her heart constrict. He put his hand on hers reassuringly. Her worried expression still did not falter, especially when Vegeta started feeling the effects from the virus.

"Oh my goodness!" Bulma exclaimed. "Vegeta, are you alright?" She hated that they needed to act out this whole part as well. She really just wanted to give him the antidote in that moment.

"Of course, princess. I am a Saiyan. I can handle anything," he bit out hoarsely while grasping onto her hand. He couldn’t believe how much pain he was feeling. He had to hand it to Frieza; the lizard really knew where to get the worst things to torture him with.

"You need medical attention. Here, let me help you,” Bulma pleaded although she was already helping him out of the room. Vegeta nodded as he attempted to get to his feet.

Bulma helped Vegeta to his feet and they headed toward the medical wing. Vegeta had his hand clutched to his heart and was breathing heavily. If someone were to see him, they wouldn't think much of it, but even though he hid his pain well, the burning sensation around his heart was unbearable.

Bulma set Vegeta down on a bed. "Okay, I'm going to go get my father. He needs to be informed that-"

"No!" Vegeta snapped, still playing along. "I do not wish to have him anywhere near me. You of all people should know that."

"I know, Vegeta, but I can't help you. I have never seen these symptoms before, but my father may have. Please, just this once."

"I would rather eat my own eyes out," Vegeta muttered.

"Please, Vegeta. For me?"

"Fine," Vegeta conceded.

"I will be back," Bulma said. When she got outside the room she let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Seeing Vegeta in so much pain was harder for her than she thought it would be. She quickly went to her father's throne room.

* * *

"Father, it is done," Bulma spoke up.

"I am well aware," Frieza replied with a smirk. "You did very well, my daughter. I will take care of the rest. You may return to your room."

"Yes, father. Good night," Bulma said with a small bow before leaving.

"Zarbon, I will be going to see the monkey," Frieza said. "You may go."

"Yes, Lord Frieza," Zarbon replied following what Bulma had done moments ago.

Frieza smiled darkly as he thought of the Saiyan prince’s demise. _This will be good._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And slight cliffhanger :D
> 
> (Edited on 2/3/2013)


	15. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

Frieza entered the med bay and couldn't hide his happiness at the fact that the fallen prince was struggling for air. This definitely had been his best plan yet.

"My daughter has informed me of your condition, Vegeta," Frieza stated causing Vegeta to weakly open his eyes and look over to Frieza. The sick bastard was grinning at him and his pain as he was gasping in attempts to bring enough oxygen into his lungs. Vegeta felt like he was suffocating.

"And?" Vegeta asked hoarsely before coughing. He closed his eyes and realized that it only hurt more when he tried to talk, but he wanted to see what information he could get out of Frieza.

"I believe I have seen these symptoms before, Vegeta," Frieza told him grinning wider. "I believe you have contracted a heart virus that only affects Saiyans."

"Great," Vegeta muttered. "Anything to stop it?" It was starting to get even more difficult to talk, but he would not yield until the lizard was out of his sight. He would not appear weak in front of his tormentor.

"Not to my knowledge," Frieza said, "but I can tell you what caused it. I have a little secret for you."

Vegeta's eyes widened. Was Frieza about to tell him the truth about Bulma now that he was dying? He should have suspected something like that. Only a sick freak would come up with this type of stuff being so obsessed with irony. "What?"

Frieza's sinister smile never faded as he started speaking. He got close to Vegeta's ear. "My daughter is the one who infected you," he whispered ignoring the faked shocked look on Vegeta's face. "I gave her the order. She didn't trust you monkeys either. Ironic, since she is one."

"Wh-what?" Vegeta asked, his voice laced with feigned surprise while cracking slightly.

"That's right, Vegeta. When she was born, I killed her mother and took her in as my own, planning to use her against your pitiful race when the time was right."

"You're…you’re a monster," Vegeta forced out. "How could you do something like that? Keeping her identity a secret from her?"

Frieza smirked. "The day she became your friend, I knew she would come in handy in bringing down the rest of your race. I have this need to finish what I start."

"What do you mean?" Vegeta asked although he knew what the lizard was getting at.

"I destroyed you planet, Vegeta," Frieza confessed. "I will singlehandedly bring down the rest of the monkeys. I do care for Bulma as my daughter, though, so she will remain unharmed and marry Zarbon. Too bad you and your two other monkeys won't be around to see that. Once this virus kills you, I will kill Nappa and Raditz. Well, I'm off. Maybe you'll be able to survive a few more hours. This is goodbye, _Prince Vegeta._ "

Frieza left Vegeta to think about what he had just heard. Sure, Vegeta suspected everything regarding the planet, and even with the files as a confirmation it felt completely different hearing Frieza truly confess his crimes against the Saiyan race. What really got to him was that Frieza had killed Bulma's mother so that he would be able to use her as a tool. He needed to tell her the whole truth, but first he needed to get the cure. He would have to hold on until lights out for Bulma to administer the antidote. He just hoped he could hang on for another hour or so.

* * *

Bulma managed to get the bracelet off of her. Now that she had done her part, she didn't think it mattered. Her father thought she was in for the night. When the ship's lights turned off, she hurried to the med bay.

When she got there, she found Vegeta looking worse than he had when she left him earlier. Tears started forming when she saw him.

"D-don't…cry," Vegeta ordered, having difficulty getting out the words. "Y-you are a Saiyan. Have…some pride." He smirked at her after the teasing though he was completely tense and breathing heavily.

"Vegeta, I'm sorry," Bulma replied rushing to his side and running her fingers through his hair.

"Don't be. I…ordered you to follow through."

Bulma nuzzled against his neck before taking out another vial and forcing a few drops of the antidote into his mouth. He struggled to swallow, but eventually did and started to feel the effects of the cure thankful that it was fast-acting. He was finally able to let go of his heart and weakly grabbed Bulma's hand.

"Thank you," he whispered placing a small kiss on her hand.

Bulma didn't say anything. She kissed his forehead, then his nose, and finally his lips. He weakly put his hand around her neck. They wouldn't break apart from each other and by the time they did, there was a shadow lurking near the entrance.

* * *

Bulma returned to her room and felt a heaviness in the air. She disposed of the virus vial down a garbage shoot that filtered into the vacuum of space so that her father wouldn't use it against anyone else she cared about. She only hoped that he didn't have more viral vectors.

A knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts. She went to answer it. "Yes?"

Zarbon stood in her doorway, smirking deviously at her. "Good evening, princess. I thought we would celebrate."

Without allowing Bulma the time to reject him, he grabbed her and forcibly kissed her. She smacked him as hard as she could and pushed him away.

"What are you doing?" Bulma nearly shrieked.

"Oh, so you'll kiss the dying monkey, but you won't kiss you fiancé," Zarbon mused. "I'm sure your father would love to hear that you've been conspiring against him with those fools. But before I tell him that, there's something I'd like to do. Maybe I should finish what that newbie had started two years ago." Bulma paled. "You are, after all, just a monkey."

Bulma tried to escape the room, but Zarbon was blocking her only exit. He managed to catch her and pin her down to her bed. He placed rough, open-mouthed kisses on her neck that Bulma thought he was going to rip her skin off.

"Please…stop," she pleaded.

"Not going to happen," Zarbon replied darkly glaring daggers at the woman underneath him. "You betrayed Lord Frieza, and this will be your punishment. Just like your little monkey prince."

Tears were streaming down Bulma's face. She was trying with all her power to fight back, but Zarbon was using his full strength and to her dismay, he was stronger than her.

"You should try to relax, _princess,_ " he advised bitterly. "It will be more painful for you if you're tense."

"Stop!" Bulma exclaimed earning her a slap to the face.

"Shut up before you wake up the entire ship, you little bitch," Zarbon hissed.

"You all lied to me," Bulma said weakly. "How could you?"

Zarbon smirked. The girl must have thought he was going to kill her when he was done with her, hoping for answers to her supposed final question. No, if anyone was going to kill her, it would be Lord Frieza once he learned of her betrayal, a fitting punishment for someone who loved the killer as a father. As he ripped off her dress, he said, "You were a means to an end. Lord Frieza was going to use you to bring down the rest of those monkey fools. He started to see you as his own daughter, though, and decided to keep you alive. You were never meant to find out about it, and if you hadn't you would be safe right now. Now here we are. May I say before I take you that you look quite lovely, except for the tail, that is, but we can get around that."

He grabbed Bulma's tail aggressively and caused her to cry out in pain. "Don't…" she cried desperately while trying to get away from him.

He smirked at the pain he was causing the traitor and tied her tail to the bedpost before pushing it into the wood to stop her from squirming. Ignoring Bulma's sobs, he went back to kissing and biting her body.

 _Someone, please help me,_ she pleaded in her head waiting for Zarbon to make his move.

Before she knew it, someone burst into her room and pulled Zarbon off of her. She couldn't see through her tears and blurring vision, but she felt someone untie her tail from the bedpost.

"Raditz, get her to the healing chamber," Nappa ordered.

"Wait, cover her tail up at least," she heard Vegeta's voice say. Had he already healed? The antidote must have worked really well.

"Yes, Prince Vegeta," Raditz said grabbing a pair of her training slacks and getting them on her to hide her tail.

Nappa covered Raditz in getting to medical bay. They saw a flash of light and heard a desperate cry from Bulma's room before Zarbon's energy completely disappeared. At least they knew he would not be hurting anyone ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Edited on 2/3/2013


	16. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

"What the hell is going on in here?" Frieza shouted when he entered the medical bay. His scouter had gone off when Vegeta had unleashed his energy, and he had found Zarbon dead in his daughter's room and her dress ripped to shreds on the ground. When he entered the medical bay he found all three Saiyans, including a fully healed Vegeta, standing by a healing chamber where his daughter was. They looked over to him but said nothing. "You will tell me what happened!"

Vegeta stood up. "I was feeling better," he stated ignoring the shocked look on Frieza's face. "I went to go tell Bulma since she had been with me when I fell ill." Even though Nappa and Raditz knew that Bulma caused his illness, it was best for Frieza not to know that. "When I got there, I heard her crying from the inside so I broke the door down and found Zarbon trying to take advantage of her. Nappa and Raditz had been with me and followed me there and I ordered them to bring her here. You picked such a _wonderful_ man to marry your daughter."

Frieza could not conceal his rage. Not only was he pissed that the monkey had survived the virus, but now he was pissed that Zarbon had gone after his little princess. And now the accused was dead and he would never know what possessed him to harm his daughter. Frieza would have suspected that one of the monkeys had harmed her, but Vegeta now knew the truth and he would never let that happen.

"You are not to tell her what we spoke of," Frieza said before leaving. Vegeta had been the one to help her last time this had happened and she would probably only feel safest with him when she would wake up whether he liked it or not. Now he had the mess to clean up.

* * *

A few hours later, the healing chamber started draining. When the door opened, Bulma opened her eyes and saw Vegeta standing in front of her. Vegeta took a blanket from the cabinet and covered Bulma's body, removed the mask from her face, and lifted her from the chamber.

"Vegeta," she called meekly as more tears fell.

"Sh," he cooed. "Save your strength, princess. You had a rough night."

"Prince Vegeta, do you need anything?" Nappa asked.

"Get some clothes from her room and bring it to mine. I'm sure her father doesn't want her staying in there with the mess."

"Mess?" Bulma inquired.

"Don't worry about that," Vegeta ordered. "Just know that Zarbon won't be hurting you anymore."

Bulma cried harder and buried herself into his chest. "Thank you. Thank you." She had felt so relieved that Vegeta had stopped Zarbon when she could not. She had never felt so helpless before in her life aside from when she couldn’t defend herself two years prior or when she saw Vegeta hurt. This was completely new to her. This time she had the ability to defend herself, but couldn’t fend her attacker off.

Vegeta clutched her closer to him as she wrapped her arms around her neck. He stroked her wet hair in attempts to comfort her. Zarbon had come far too close to taking her innocence away from her tonight and it was partly his fault for getting her involved with EVERYTHING. He should have just told her she was a Saiyan, maybe train her a little, but not have her steal files and act like a double-agent. This was on him. Frieza and Zarbon would have never known. Thankfully Frieza still had no clue and Zarbon was dead. Now he just had to help Bulma get past this.

* * *

Vegeta got to his room and placed Bulma gently on his bed. He covered her sleeping form with another blanket, sat over on the couch, and just watched her sleep. Nappa came in with some of her clothes and reported that Frieza was having the room cleaned, but that he would probably put Bulma in another room. He didn't want the room to bring about bad memories.

"Is there anything else you need, sir?" Nappa asked.

Vegeta shook his head without taking his eyes off Bulma. "That will be all, Nappa. Just…get some rest. These next few weeks are going to be difficult."

Nappa nodded and left Vegeta alone with Bulma. When Bulma started shivering, Vegeta moved over to the bed and held her close to him so she could absorb some of his body heat. He was careful with how he held her as he did not want her to wake up panicked.

"Vegeta," he heard her whisper in her sleep as she clung to him. He responded by kissing her forehead.

Vegeta decided to take the time to think over what had happened. Nappa and Raditz showed up after Bulma gave him the antidote. His strength was returning rapidly. Whatever Bulma had done worked really well and Vegeta felt his power go up once he was fully healed. He discussed some particulars with Nappa and Raditz about what their next move would be when he heard Bulma's voice in his head begging for help. He then rushed off to her room with Nappa and Raditz in tow. He didn't even wait before he blasted down the door. The rage he felt when he saw Zarbon on top of her, well, he couldn't control it. The next thing he knew, he had killed Zarbon. He didn't remember anything in between that.

 _How did I hear her? Have we already started forming a bond with each other?_ he asked himself.

At this point, he didn't care. He was just happy he had heard her cry for help. If he had shown up any later…he couldn't even think of it. He just needed to calm his rage before Bulma woke up. He needed to be her rock right now more than ever and he would be whether Frieza liked it or not.

* * *

Frieza needed a plan. He needed to find someone else for his daughter to marry. He had promised Vegeta that if he hadn't found a man for her by the time she was eighteen that he would permit Vegeta to marry her. Now that he knew she was a Saiyan, he would be more insistent on the matter. It was obvious to him that even though his daughter didn't trust the Saiyan monkey that she felt safe with him and that could become something more, especially now.

But who to choose? He had trusted Zarbon to be the perfect man for her and then he attempted to rape her. Sure, he didn't know the full story, but under no circumstance should Zarbon have laid a finger on her.

Then he got an idea. Maybe he would let Vegeta marry Bulma or at least think he was being permitted to marry her and then crush his hopes at the last minute. Frieza cracked a grin. He just loved messing with the fallen prince. He sat back on his throne swishing a glass of wine thinking of the best way to implement his plan.

* * *

Vegeta woke up to a knock on his door. When he answered it, Dodoria was on the other side. "What do you want?"

"Lord Frieza wishes to speak with you," Dodoria explained. "He said it was important."

Vegeta looked back over to Bulma. He was worried about leaving her alone. "Give me a moment," he requested. Dodoria nodded and Vegeta shut the door in his face. He walked over to Bulma and caressed her face. She stirred a little bit under his touch and cracked her eyes opened.

"Vegeta?"

"I need to go speak with Frieza. He has requested me for the moment. You need to rest. I will be back soon."

Bulma smiled and closed her eyes again and Vegeta left the room.

He followed Dodoria to Frieza's throne room.

"Good morning, Vegeta," Frieza greeted. "I trust you slept well. How is my daughter?"

"She is resting," Vegeta told him. He had to admit, even if he and Frieza hated each other with a burning passion, Frieza did care about Bulma a lot and must have been swallowing a lot of his own pride to be having this casual conversation.

"I am glad you were able to stop Zarbon," Frieza said. That was as close to a “thank you” as Vegeta was ever going to get.

"I am too," he replied calmly.

Frieza stared at the Saiyan for a moment. Neither was attempting to be the first to speak. They were awaiting each other’s moves as if they were playing a complicated game of chess. "Vegeta,” Frieza finally spoke up, “do you remember what happened two years ago, after than man attacked my daughter?"

Vegeta nodded. "I requested to marry your daughter."

"Yes, and I said that if I hadn't found anyone for her by the time she was eighteen, that you could marry her." Vegeta was shocked. Was Frieza really doing what Vegeta thought he was? "Zarbon was a poor choice and I regret not seeing his behavior sooner. But you…I hate you, Vegeta, but you have saved my daughter not once, but twice. She feels safe with you. I wish to speak to her about the matter before anything is official, but I am granting you permission. You may marry her."

Vegeta kept his face emotionless and nodded. He couldn't let Frieza see how happy he actually was. There had to be a catch, but he didn't care. He had always cared about Bulma and when he found out she was a Saiyan, his desire to be with her grew. This emotion, he didn't really know, but he knew that the word the Ice-jins would place on it is “love.” That word was universal even if the Saiyans never used it. Words could not describe how they felt for their mates.

"That will be all, Vegeta," Frieza said dismissing him. "And take care of my daughter or you will have hell to pay."

Vegeta smirked at the Ice-jin. "I will." His sincerity, Frieza noted, was completely genuine. He could only guess on what that meant for the Saiyan and his daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, what could Frieza possibly be planning? You'll just have to read and find out ;3 lol
> 
> (This chapter was edited on 2/3/2013)


	17. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters.

When Vegeta returned to his room, Bulma was already dressed and making breakfast in his small kitchenette. Vegeta didn’t have much food wise, but Bulma figured out how to make his random food ingredients look somewhat edible. She looked so beautiful and had a smile on her face. It was hard to believe that what had happened last night had really happened. Bulma turned to look at him and her eyes lit up. Her tail motioned for him to come over to her. It was nice to know that Bulma still trusted him even after her run-in with Zarbon.

Vegeta put his arms around her waist and rested his head atop of hers. Bulma intertwined their tails and Vegeta smiled. The warmth he felt in his chest for that one simple gesture made him feel invincible. He kissed her neck gently and was relieved when she welcomed it.

“What did my father want?” Bulma asked. Vegeta turned her around in his grip and gently pressed her against the counter.

“He has granted me permission to marry you. I had asked him two years ago when he asked what I wanted. I have always wanted you, Bulma. Now we even have his permission to be together.”

Bulma smiled with tears of joy forming in her eyes. She pulled him in for a hug. “I’m glad. I love you, Vegeta.”

“And I you, my princess,” Vegeta replied. He still didn’t like using the word “love” since what he felt for her was so much more than that.

“Are you ready for breakfast?” Bulma asked.

Vegeta nodded and Bulma drew him into a passionate kiss. “I can get used to this,” he said making Bulma giggle in response against his lips. At least now they had the freedom to be with one another even though they knew there would be a catch.

* * *

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?” Nappa and Raditz exclaimed later when they went to check on Bulma.

“Yes,” Bulma said with a smile on her face looking up at Vegeta. “I already spoke with my father about it. Vegeta went with me.”

“So what’s the catch?” Raditz asked not that he wasn’t happy for his prince/friend.

“So far, nothing, but I’m sure he will think of something. It matters not, though.” He turned his head to smile down at Bulma.

“Well, congratulations,” Nappa said. He had always wanted Vegeta to be happy and Bulma seemed to make him happy through the years. And now it seemed like Vegeta would be able to continue the royal line with a true Saiyan and that was even more of a plus. Things were starting to fall in the place for his prince and future princess.

* * *

“I can’t believe this,” Bulma muttered later in Vegeta’s room.

He lied down next to her on the bed and hugged her from behind. “What’s the matter?” he asked rubbing his nose against her temple lightly breathing on her neck.

Bulma giggled at the sensation of his breath tickling her. “Well, nothing right now.” She rolled to her back and looked up at Vegeta who was hovering over her. She put her arms around his neck and he bent down to kiss her passionately and vigorously. Vegeta was being a little rougher with her, but it was a Saiyan thing and he would never do anything to harm her. Bulma trusted that. When they broke apart, Bulma told him her concern. “My father wants me to continue with those damn marriage classes. I can’t disobey him, especially when he’s being unusually calm about our union.”

Vegeta nodded. “Just smile and nod and know in your heart that I will never try to silence you or keep you as some damn wallflower. I like your feisty attitude much better than your dutiful one.”

The tears in Bulma’s eyes worried Vegeta. He thought he had something she wanted to hear, but he had upset her…or not.

Bulma grabbed onto him desperately and kissed him vigorously. She refused to let him go. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, Vegeta. You mean it?” Vegeta smirked and nodded. “Thank you…for not trying to silence me.”

“I would never do that, princess. It’s not the Saiyan way.”

“Like I said, I like the Saiyans a whole lot better than my father’s people.” It made sense now more than ever now that she knew the truth of her origins. Vegeta simply nuzzled against her neck, playfully nibbling on her soft skin. Bulma sighed in contentment as she felt his hands against her skin under her clothes. At least she could still feel pleasure in being with the Saiyan she loved without being reminded of the horrible night with Zarbon. She soon drifted off, snoring slightly, and Vegeta pulled her closer to him. He too fell asleep easily that night. They knew they would have more night like these, and accepted the fact that they would remain inseparable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited 2/3/2013


	18. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

It had been two months since Vegeta and Bulma's engagement had been announced to Frieza's men. Many of them avoided Vegeta more than before, because not only was he strong, but surely Frieza would look out for his future son-in-law. Only the higher-ups knew better.

"Dodoria, have all the preparations been made?" Frieza asked his new second.

"Yes, Lord Frieza," Dodoria replied. "Everything is set up. What do you need me to do?"

Frieza grinned. "Nothing more. I will take things from here."

* * *

"Bulma has been getting a lot stronger," Raditz said to Nappa during one of their secret, late night training sessions. "She's holding her own against Vegeta."

Nappa nodded. "It's safe to say that Vegeta will hold back for no one,” Nappa chuckled. “I'm impressed with her. She's definitely faster than Vegeta is."

"We'll be able to take down Frieza, right?" the younger Saiyan asked hesitantly.

Nappa nodded. "Yes, Vegeta will be giving us a rundown later on what's going to happen."

"We're finally going to be free of him," Raditz stated hopefully.

"Yes," Nappa agreed. "For the first time, I believe we will be."

* * *

"So, what's the plan?" Nappa asked Vegeta after his and Bulma's spar.

"You two will use our wedding as a distraction," Vegeta explained.

"We're going to do this on your wedding day?" Raditz asked in shock. "Are you insane?"

"Why is that so strange?" Vegeta asked looking over to Bulma who shrugged. "Neither Bulma nor I care about the actually ceremony. It's the Colds' tradition. We will mate through our customs beforehand."

"Okay, so what exactly can we do during the wedding?" Nappa asked. "If we're not there, won't Frieza be suspicious?"

"Not at all," Bulma replied. "I already told him neither of you were coming because the ceremony is different from Saiyan traditions and that you would be confused. It seemed to work and he agreed to it.”

"You're pretty good at manipulating others for such someone with such an innocent disposition, princess," Raditz commented jokingly.

Bulma smiled. "Why thank you, Raditz. I work hard at it."

"So, during the wedding, we'll be going off and doing what?"

"Shutting down the ship with these codes," Bulma said handing Nappa a piece of paper. "It will just shut of the electricity and the propulsion system. If I know my father, he'll send weaker soldiers to check on the power core. They'll be weak enough to deal with. Then he'll come when he reads their energies vanishing on the scouter.”

"At which point the four of us will fight to weaken him?" Raditz asked.

"Exactly," Bulma confirmed.

"Then what?"

Vegeta smirked. "We beat him and then escape in pods that we already have set up in one of the abandoned decks," Vegeta said. "With coordinates set for Earth."

Raditz's eyes widened when Vegeta said that. "Earth, why Earth?" Nappa asked.

"Because my brother is there," Raditz explained. Vegeta nodded. It was better to be among Saiyans than anyone else in the universe.

"It's crazy, but it just might work," Nappa said. "That is IF we can defeat Frieza."

"There's no IF about it," Vegeta said in disgust. "We WILL defeat him. I know it."

* * *

"Do you think the monkey will like his room?" Frieza asked Dodoria while they were standing in front of a small, empty room with a monitor mounted on the wall.

"Oh of course," Dodoria joked. "With this ki shield system in place, he won't be getting out of there on his own."

"Good," Frieza whispered. "And the viewing monitor works."

"Yes, Lord Frieza."

Frieza smirked. "Well, that is good news. Wouldn't want him to miss his own wedding." The laughter of the two could be heard ringing throughout the lower dungeons. Even the other prisoners dared not make a sound in fear of what the tyrant could possibly have planned for his own man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yup, Frieza is evil. And now back to studying XD (also evil)
> 
> Edited on 2/21/2013


	19. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters.

It was the night before Bulma’s and Vegeta’s wedding and Bulma’s room had a guard outside. According to her father, it was Ice-jin tradition. The night before a wedding ceremony, the girl would be guarded to make sure she was to stay pure before the marriage. For a culture that believed in purity before marriage, they certainly had no problem ruining a lot of women.

“Sir,” Bulma called to her guard meekly. The guard peeked his lizard head into the room.

“Yes, princess?”

Bulma smiled at him and offered him a seat. “Would you like some tea? I just wanted some company.”

The guard smiled to her and took the offered seat. He took a sip of the tea. “Mm, this is good, Princess Bulma.”

“I’m so glad you like it,” she said happily.

After the guard finished the tea, he felt very drowsy, but went back to his post. Within minutes, he was unconscious on the floor and Bulma was able to sneak out to Vegeta’s room to go through their mating ritual.

* * *

Bulma lightly knocked on Vegeta’s door and he opened it right away to let her in. They stood for a moment, taking each other in before she ran into his warm embrace. He smiled at her and ran his fingers through her hair engulfing her lithe body in his strong arms. He took in her scent and took that moment to think about what this truly meant for him. This was going to be the night where he took her as his mate and a stronger connection would be formed between them. It both scared him and excited him, for he would be putting all of his trust in her while trusting her with his greatest weakness…her. He knew he would do anything for her, and her life meant more to him than his own. He was giving her the rare chance to see him drop his pride by depending on another. She would be the one he would share everything with, and he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Vegeta wanted to make her fully his, though not like the Ice-jin would have had it with her former suitor, but as someone to be treasured and not possessed. He would go slowly, though, as to not frighten her after all of the experiences she had before. “If you feel any discomfort at all, you must tell me.” That was his only condition and Bulma agreed to it before he laid her gently on the bed.

Bulma smiled as he started kissing her neck. He was gentle with her and she liked that, knowing that she was the only one who would ever experience this side he always kept hidden. He started undressing her slowly, and, for the first time, she wasn’t afraid when she felt the cold air on her body. This would be different for her, for both of them, and she felt calm and safe in knowing that.

As they kissed and caressed each other’s bodies, their tails entwined as if they had minds of their own. When it came time for the two to mark each other, they bit down on each other’s shoulders instead of their necks to keep the mark out of view from her father.

Memories and thoughts from their eighteen years of life flooded into them. Bulma saw it all and finally understood the burning hatred Vegeta held towards her father. She felt the pain, the torture, the sadness, the humiliation. How could her father do that to anyone, let alone a boy she had been friends with, whom saved her from being raped twice, and whom she loved? At the same time, Vegeta saw everything about Bulma. Where he had felt physical pain and anguish, she was mentally damaged. He saw the blows to her pride when she had to be the perfect “lady,” the pain of loneliness with him being her only true friend in life, her dream to one day get off the ship and relish in the feeling of actual ground but hiding that desire from her father as he had forbidden her to do so. He also felt the overwhelming guilt and fear she felt having been the one to give him the heart virus. Looking down at her tear stained face he kissed her with as much passion as he could letting her know that there was nothing she needed to be forgiven for. None of this was her fault, but the fault of the tyrant that had lied to them their entire lives. They were both trapped, but soon they’d be free.

Vegeta clutched Bulma to him and nuzzled his head against her neck, both breathing heavily after what they had just experienced. They both knew she had to leave, but neither wanted that so she stayed in his arms for a few more minutes before they simultaneously said, “I should go;” “You should go.”

Bulma nodded and smiled sadly at her new mate, but Vegeta smirked letting her know that soon they would be free and they wouldn’t have to be separated like this again. Things were going to be okay. They had only a few more hours before they’d be on their way to Earth. He gave her a quick kiss and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Bulma kissed him back slowly and hugged him. “Looking forward to it.” She quickly clothed herself once again and moved towards his door. Looking back at her mate, she smiled again and quietly left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Aw, cuddles…now going back to the buggles XD Yeah, that was a bad joke, but that’s how bored I really am.
> 
> Edited on 2/22/2013


	20. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters

Bulma awoke to the artificial sunlight of the ship. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light. _Today is the day,_ she thought as she moved out of bed.

She took a quick shower and did her hair. Her hair was in a loose bun with a few strands framing her face. Looking at herself in the mirror, she ran her fingers over the mark that Vegeta had given her the night before.

She mentally scolded herself. There was no time to think about that now. A battle was about to begin and she needed to be ready. Before putting on the traditional dress of the Ice-jins, Bulma put on the light, but durable armor Vegeta had gotten for her. When she saw herself in the mirror, she smiled at what she saw, a Saiyan ready for battle, tail free. It was then she knew; this was who she was supposed to be.

A knock on her door brought her out of her reverie. _Who could that be?_

Bulma opened the door and smiled when she saw it was Nappa and Raditz. She motioned for them to enter her room. After shutting the door, she turned to face them and found them kneeling before her.

“Princess,” they both said respectfully.

“Um, guys, you don’t have to bow,” Bulma told them. “I’ve gotten that enough in my life. Plus, you’re my friends.”

“Yes, but you are Prince Vegeta’s mate,” Nappa explained as they stood up straight. “It is our duty and great honor to protect and follow the royal family.”

“We have just come from Prince Vegeta’s quarters,” Raditz said getting to the point, but still being respectful. “He said you have something for us.”

Bulma grinned. “Yes, new and improved scouters with the invisibility so we can get away with wearing them during the ceremony. It is not linked to any of my father’s mainframes so we can communicate with one another.”

Both Nappa and Raditz looked confused. “If they aren’t connected to Frieza’s mainframe, where are we getting the signal?”

“I created our own mainframe and installed the software in each of the escape pods.”

“Impressive,” they both replied.

The three of them put on their scouters and activated the cloaking mechanism. Nappa turned to Bulma and smirked at her.

“Now, _princess,”_ he said teasingly, “allow us to escort you to the hall for the ceremony.”

Bulma chuckled. “Oh, fine,” she replied. “Thank you.”

* * *

Vegeta stood in front of the mirror, adorning himself with his armor. After he finished putting on his breastplate, he picked up his scouter. Staring into the mirror, seemingly emotionless, he put in on and activated the cloaking device.

He heard a knock on the door, but didn’t move to answer it. He already knew who it was.

“Hello, Vegeta,” Frieza said, letting himself into the room. Vegeta cringed at the sound of his voice. Something was up. One question went through Vegeta’s mind. What did he want?

Frieza took out some glasses from Vegeta’s cabinet in the miniature kitchen. Vegeta watched him carefully with the aid of his mirror. Even he would never fully turn his back on an enemy. He watched the tyrant take out some wine that Vegeta had left and pour it into the glasses. Frieza smirked knowing Vegeta was watching and cleverly added something to one of the glasses without catching the Saiyan’s attention.

Frieza placed the glasses on the table and sat down. He motioned for Vegeta to join him. He reluctantly sat down. He wouldn’t cause any trouble between himself and the tyrant, not yet anyway.

“It is hard to believe that in a few hours you will be part of my clan,” Frieza stated before sipping his wine. “This changes nothing, as I’m sure you agree.”

Vegeta nodded. “I still hate you,” he admitted taking hold of his glass, staring at its contents.

Frieza smirked. “The feeling is mutual, but for today, let’s be civil, hm? For Bulma.” Vegeta nodded in agreement, although he would not be keeping in that promise for long. Little did he know, Frieza wouldn’t be keeping it either.

“A toast,” Frieza said raising his glass. “To our common interest.”

Vegeta took a sip from his glass along with Frieza. Frieza finished his wine quickly and stood from the table. Vegeta did not drink anymore of the wine, not trusting the tyrant fully and not wanting to obscure his senses for battle.

“I will be seeing you soon.” Something about the way he said it made Vegeta feel uneasy. Frieza smirked and left Vegeta to finish getting ready. Now Vegeta felt slight anxiety and he did not like it. He took a couple more sips of wine to calm his nerves that only Frieza could bring out and then dumped the rest. He knew he needed to be sober for the upcoming battle.

He finished getting ready and was about to leave the room when he started feeling dizzy. He held onto the door frame with his right hand, gripping his head with his left. _What the hell is…?_ He stopped his questions and licked his lips. The taste confirmed his suspicions. _Drugged,_ he concluded. He didn’t know how he couldn’t taste or smell it a second ago.

He fell to his knees, beginning to lose consciousness. Then he hit the ground with a thud which could be heard from outside the room. Frieza entered the room when he heard the Saiyan hit the floor. “Well, I did promise him that I’d see him soon,” he said chuckling. After lifting the unconscious Saiyan off the floor by the hair, he dragged him off to the lower level of the ship, the dungeon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Edited on 2/22/2013


	21. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters.

“Good luck to you both,” Bulma said before giving Nappa and Raditz a hug. They smiled and left for the control room.

“Princess Bulma?” Bulma turned to see her instructor. He smirked at her. “You were my most difficult student yet,” he told her, “and I’m glad you didn’t pass.”

Bulma smiled. Eventually her instructor found her charming in her own way and told her father that her attitude had finally been ideal, even though it truly wasn’t. It was by his doing that this wedding was even happening and Bulma couldn’t be more thankful. Part of her hoped that he would survive the blood bath that was about to take place, but she knew in her heart that that was just wishful thinking.

Bulma responded with a nod and entered the hall. She used to think the hall was beautiful when she was a little girl, but now it just seemed like a trap. What had happened the night before was much more beautiful than this farce of a bonding ceremony. Bulma shook her head as she remembered the way she grew up. How could her father’s people celebrate such a forced union? The sound of a trumpet brought everyone to attention. The wedding was to begin in thirty minutes.

* * *

Vegeta groaned and strained to open his eyes. When he did, he was met by a bright light. He cringed at the intensity and cocked his head to the side. He knew that light; he’d seen it before. Vegeta scoffed when he realized that he was in the dungeon. He heard the sound of a trumpet blast signaling the time for his wedding. Turning his head toward the screen, he saw Bulma standing there searching for him. He was still too out of it to say anything though. _That son of a bitch,_ he thought, knowing this was Frieza’s doing.

_Bulma looked confused when Frieza walked up to the front of the hall. Bulma gave her father a questioning look._

_“Oh, I’m so sorry my dear,” Frieza said with feigned disappointment, “but it doesn’t look like Vegeta will be joining us. He’s opted out.”_

“Bastard!” Vegeta was finally able to shout out, his voice ringing out and frightening the other prisoners in the other cells. In his anger, he momentarily forgot about the scouter meaning that he could not contact Bulma or the others at that moment.

_Bulma glared at her father. She didn’t believe him. “What did you do to him?” she accused in a venomous voice. Everyone looked at her in shock for accusing her father of something and for speaking with such malice. Frieza looked hurt by the accusation, but not as hurt when he heard her shout, “Tell me!”_

_“Why,” Frieza asked in surprise, though it sounded more like sadness, “would you think I did anything to him?” He couldn’t believe that his little girl was actually side against him with the monkey._

Because you would, _Bulma thought silently._

_“Where is he?” Bulma asked calmly covering her rage._

_Frieza frowned and started his act. “My dear daughter, I am sorry. He has run.”_

_Bulma knew that was a lie, especially when she sensed Vegeta’s rage through their bond. She moved her hand to hold her marked shoulder._

* * *

“ _Don’t listen to him_ ,” she heard his voice say over the invisible communicator as he finally remembered having it with him. “ _I’m in his accursed dungeon_.”

Bulma clenched her fists, marched off the platform, and started to leave the hall.

“Where are you going?” Frieza asked.

“I…I need to be alone, daddy,” Bulma said sadly, pretending to believe his story. Frieza smirked at his supposed victory and the fact that whatever spell his daughter was under had been broken by his lie. It was time to rub it in the monkey’s face that he would never be with the last female Saiyan in existence. His only consolation would be that he would be dead soon and wouldn’t have to go on without her.

* * *

“Princess!” Nappa and Raditz exclaimed entering her room. They were aware of the situation and how their plans were now on hold.

“It’s okay guys,” Bulma said in a determined voice, ready to help her mate and take down her “father.” “He messed with the wrong Saiyan. He should have never gone after my mate.” She smirked before ending with, “I have a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Edited on 2/23/2013


	22. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters

Frieza went down to the dungeon and stopped in front of Vegeta’s cell. “Hello, monkey,” Frieza greeted with a devilish grin.

Vegeta looked over to him and glared. He snarled at Frieza, not even gracing him with a response. “Oh, Vegeta, when you do that, you look like a wild animal. Now how did you like my little show?”

Vegeta moved to attack Frieza. He never could handle being locked in a cage. When he went to strike the bars with his fist, he was hit with an electric force field. It pushed him back and caused him to writhe on the ground in pain. “You bastard,” he spat out trying to catch his breath.

Frieza smirked at the writhing Saiyan. “I suppose I am,” Frieza laughed. “Now, I need to go help my little princess pick up the pieces of her broken heart; and then, when she finally hates you, I will kill you. Her disdain towards you WILL be the last thing you ever get to experience with her.”

Frieza left Vegeta, who was still trying to catch his breath. He knew Bulma knew he was trapped and wouldn’t buy Frieza’s ruse, but Frieza’s words still affected him. He needed Bulma more than anything and he needed her now. Vegeta knew he would have to wait, but he just hoped he wouldn’t go crazy in this cell first like he had before.

* * *

At that moment, Bulma saw Vegeta’s memory of being locked up for months. She remembered a time when they were children when Vegeta was pretty much afraid of his own shadow. She was broken from her thoughts by Nappa putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Princess Bulma, what is your plan, if I may ask?”

“Well, I have this chemical, but I haven’t tested it yet,” she started. “It’s supposed to prevent transformation. I’m going to put that and a sleep aid in his drink. I have a feeling he’ll come here. I have to figure out a way to pretend to be broken hearted.”

“You can do it,” Nappa encouraged. “You’re a very good actress to get this far.”

Bulma smiled. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Anytime, princess,” Nappa replied with a grin. “So then what?”

“Well, my father will lose consciousness and we can break Vegeta out. We’ll follow through with the original plan after that and by the time my father comes to, we’ll be ready to fight and he won’t be able to transform into his stronger forms.”

“I’m liking the plan,” Raditz stated after listening intently.

“Good,” she replied walking to her door and opening it. They sensed Frieza down the hall. Her smile became a venomous glare. “Now get the hell out of my room!” Bulma exclaimed and then winked at the two other Saiyans.

“Fine, we’re going,” Nappa said as he rose up his hands in defense. “Let’s go, Raditz.” Raditz nodded and followed Nappa out of the room.

“My, my, seems the ‘prince’ sent his little monkeys to explain. Coward,” Frieza said in amusement.

Bulma frowned and turned away. “I’m sorry father. I did not mean for you to see me that way. I let myself get angry. I apologize.”

Frieza went over to Bulma and hugged her from behind. “It’s okay, my daughter. I understand. That monkey hurt you. If that monkey ever turns up, I will kill him.”

Bulma mentally cringed. If she didn’t get Vegeta away from him quickly, she would never see him alive again. She had to act now.

“Father, would you mind…joining me for a cup of tea?” She looked at him sadly. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“Of course, my little princess,” Frieza said sitting down as she prepared the tea.

Bulma secretly added the tasteless chemical to his tea and then brought it to him. After an hour of sitting in a semi-comfortable silence, Frieza started to get tired. He fell asleep on her couch and she put a blanket on him. Hopefully, the effects would last against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited 2/23/2013


	23. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters

The dungeon was not heavily guarded which surprised the three Saiyans. Frieza was either very stupid or very arrogant. Bulma, of course, was able to disengage all of the alarms and they were able to get to Vegeta’s cell. When they saw him, they panicked. Their prince didn’t look well.

Vegeta was temporarily trapped inside of himself, reliving his memories of being locked away back when he was twelve. It was punishment for kissing his daughter. Bulma had convinced her father not to kill him, but that didn’t mean he was in the clear. During that time of being locked in a cold, dark cage led Vegeta to become highly claustrophobic, though he hid it very well.

Bulma never knew how badly Vegeta had been punished for what had happened. He would have never told her. He never really told her anything about his punishments, but she knew he’d been beaten before as she was always the one to nurse his wounds. This was just cruel; it was pure mental torture and it made her sick.

“Frieza’s a monster,” Bulma whispered. Whatever love she felt for him as her father had left her the moment she bonded with Vegeta, but now she couldn’t even utter the word “father.”

Hearing her voice, Vegeta forced himself to open his eyes. _Bulma?_ he called out in their minds.

She put her hand over her hand over her mouth to muffle the sound of a sob. She knew he felt that it was weak to cry, but she didn’t care. He was her mate and he was suffering. She needed to get him out of there as quickly as possible.

Bulma took out her tools to work on disengaging the electric force field. When the Saiyans were finally able to enter the cell, they let Bulma look at him first. She gently touched his cheek; his eyes refused to leave hers. She then nestled into his neck forcing back the tears that were trying to force themselves from her.

 _I’m sorry,_ she told him.

 _Don’t be._ He weakly moved his arm to stroke her hair. _I’m fine._

Bulma chuckled. “Only you would say your fine looking like this.”

Both Nappa and Raditz smirked at each other understanding what the prince must have said to his mate through their connection. It was a rare moment indeed for any Saiyan to allow another to witness the private moments between them. Being the last Saiyans left made them all feel like family, and the two elder Saiyans were happy with the fact that Vegeta and Bulma had one another.

“Princess, I think we should get him to a healing chamber before Frieza wakes up,” Nappa suggested.

“I agree,” she said looking into her lover’s eyes. “Let’s go.”

* * *

Bulma returned to her room after setting Vegeta up in the healing tank. When she returned to her room, Frieza was still out. She glared at him.

 _You kidnapped me,_ Bulma thought angrily toward him. _You killed my family, tortured my prince and mate, destroyed our home, lied to us about everything, hid my powers, and tried to silence me and extinguish my pride. I have no regrets helping my people._

“Bulma?” Frieza called out sleepily.

Bulma smirked, but Frieza couldn’t see it. “Yes, father?”

“Did I…fall asleep?”

“Yes, father,” she replied. “You must be very tired. Why don’t you just rest for now?”

Frieza smiled and nodded and let himself drift back to sleep. Bulma then went back to scowling and left her room. She wanted…no, she needed to go see her mate.

* * *

Bulma rushed into the med bay and saw Nappa and Raditz leaning against opposing walls. “How is he?” she asked in worry.

Nappa looked over to her and smirked. “He’s just fine, princess.”

Not even a second later, the healing chamber started to drain revealing a fully healed Vegeta. Vegeta stood up and grabbed a towel to dry off a bit. When he saw Bulma’s worried expression, he smirked and walked over to her. He grabbed her and kissed her passionately, not caring about the other two in the room.

He stared into her eyes before asking, “What did you do?”

Bulma giggled. “Drugged Frieza with a sleeping pill and an experimental drug that prevents transformation.”

“Frieza?” Vegeta asked commenting about how Bulma was now calling him by name.

Bulma frowned. “What he did to you was the last straw. He is no father of mine.”

Vegeta responded with a nod. “Let’s follow through with the plan. You two will still override the power on the ship. I will take care of Frieza.”

“Be careful, Prince Vegeta,” Raditz requested although he knew that would Vegeta would never take his request into consideration. He was surprised when Vegeta gave him a curt nod.

* * *

Bulma followed Vegeta to her room. Before he went in, Bulma grabbed his arm. He could tell she was nervous for him, but it didn’t matter. Frieza needed to be stopped.

Vegeta took her hands and said, “We will be fine.”

“We?” Bulma asked.

Vegeta simply smirked. “A while ago you said you wanted to fight. You are as much Frieza’s victim as I am.”

Bulma had forgotten that request and was shocked that he not only remembered, but that he was willing to let her fight alongside him.

“Are you serious?” Bulma asked in order to clarify his meaning.

Vegeta smirked and nodded. He knew his mate wouldn’t drag him down. She was nearly equal to him in strength and would be able to handle this fight. That was a fact. “Are you ready?”

Bulma nodded and the two entered the room. Frieza’s last moments were numbered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was edited 2/23/2013


	24. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters.

Bulma opened the door to her room. Frieza was still asleep when the two entered but he didn’t wake up until his scouter started ringing sensing their power levels. He reluctantly opened his tired eyes and saw both Bulma and Vegeta standing in front of him in armor, both looking very unhappy.

It took Frieza a moment to realize what was going on, but when he did he spoke calmly.

“So the monkey told you,” Frieza stated.

Bulma crossed her arms and let her tail uncurl from around her waist. “You tell me,” she said bitterly.

Frieza smirked. “I should have known,” he replied. “So I take it you knocked me out with something.”

“Yes.”

Frieza seemed very amused, though neither Saiyan knew why.

“Go,” Frieza said shocking them. “Go live your life.”

Vegeta’s mouth dropped open and his brow furrowed. There was no way Frieza was dropping his guard and allowing them to leave just like that.

“What’s your game?” Vegeta asked accusingly.

“No game,” Frieza stated. “I just want my daughter to be happy.”

“Really?” Bulma spoke up.

“Of course,” Frieza responded. “You were the daughter I never had.”

 _Don’t buy his act,_ Vegeta instructed.

 _I…it’s kind of hard not to,_ Bulma admitted.

 _Trust me,_ Vegeta replied. _He doesn’t change just like that unless he has something to gain._

_I know you’re right, but part of me just wishes this could be true._

“Well, run along, you two,” Frieza muttered.

“Fine,” Vegeta replied. He turned to Bulma. “Let’s get out of here.”

Bulma nodded and went to the door giving Frieza one last look. Vegeta watched him as he left the room in case Frieza were to make a move. When he made it to the door, he shot Frieza one last glare and left.

Frieza raised his hand to press a button on his scouter. “Yes, Dodoria. I need you to take care of something for me. Distract the Saiyans…at least until I’m awake.”

* * *

“What’s going on?” Nappa asked Vegeta when he and Bulma showed up unscathed.

“Frieza told us to leave,” Vegeta stated. “I think it’s a trap.”

Bulma didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to think right now. Just then, their scouters went off, detecting a large number of power levels. Bulma knew what that meant.

“Damn,” Vegeta muttered. He had been planning on avoiding a fight with the majority of the ship. That’s why he wanted the power outage as a distraction. “We’re going to have to fight.” Vegeta looked to the others and noticed that Bulma had lost some of her fighting spirit. “Bulma?”

Bulma was starting to feel lightheaded and she couldn’t figure out why. “Vegeta, I…I…” At that moment, Bulma passed out and fell into Vegeta’s arms.

“What the hell?” Raditz asked.

Vegeta used his abilities to sense for any changes in her ki and was shocked. He didn’t know if it was possible to tell after just one night and this early, but he sensed another ki, a very small but powerful ki. Before he learned that ability, he would have never been able to tell until much later. “I think she’s pregnant,” Vegeta whispered in concern. Both Nappa and Raditz looked panicked.

“What are your orders?” Nappa asked.

“Hold them off,” Vegeta replied while looking down at his unconscious mate. “I’ll be back.”

“Right,” the two Saiyans responded.

* * *

Vegeta brought Bulma to the prepared pods and put her in the one they would be taking. The pods were larger models that fit two people instead of one. He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her forehead.

“I’ll be back,” he whispered to her.

“You shouldn’t make promises that you can’t keep, monkey.” Vegeta let out a growl and turned to face his former master and captor.

“You were buying more time,” Vegeta observed.

“Oh course,” Frieza said with a smirk. “You didn’t honestly think I would let you leave just like that. Well, I bet Bulma did, but I digress. The four of you will die here.”

“What happened to seeing her as your daughter?” Vegeta snapped.

“Well, she chose to betray me…and you know the punishment of betrayal, don’t you.”

“You’re disgusting,” Vegeta remarked, moving defensively in front of the pod and getting into his fighting stance.

“Oh no, not me,” Frieza said in amusement. “But now I see why Zarbon had tried to rape her. It makes much more sense now. If I had been the one to find out, I would have ordered it and you wouldn’t have been able to do a damn thing.”

“I am warning you,” Vegeta muttered darkly. “You dare to harm her and that WILL be the last thing you ever do.”

Frieza chuckled. “We both know that I am stronger than you, Vegeta. Let’s not be delusional today. You can’t defeat me.”

 _I can and will,_ Vegeta thought.

 _Ve…ge…ta…_ he heard Bulma’s voice. _Kill him._

His mate’s words seemed to fuel his power and his desire to rip Frieza’s head off. He dropped into a fighting stance, letting Frieza know he was ready for a fight.

“Well, I see that someone is anxious to die,” Frieza teased. “Fine, then. Let’s end this.”

“My thoughts exactly!” Vegeta shouted as he charged at Frieza. 

Frieza wasn’t expecting Vegeta to move that fast. In fact, Frieza wasn’t expecting him to be that strong either and he was starting to take a beating. _How much has that damn monkey been training?_ Frieza asked himself. He hated to admit it, but he couldn’t handle fighting Vegeta in his first form.

Frieza attempted to transform after he hit Vegeta into the wall and found that he could not do so. He asked in a whisper why he couldn’t change, and Vegeta with his Saiyan hearing picked up on it. He smirked. If Frieza was desperate to transform, that meant he could finally win.

He needed a plan; he couldn’t win this way. That’s when he got the idea. He looked over to the pod where Bulma was sleeping. One blast would be enough to destroy the ship and her along with it. Then Vegeta would be defeated. Frieza would take away the one thing he cared about most.

Vegeta continued an onslaught of punches and while he pummeled Frieza, the tyrant managed to shoot a beam aimed near the ship. The blast hit dead on.

“Bulma!” Vegeta exclaimed. He was about to race over to the pod when Frieza managed to scratch him deeply with his razor sharp nails. Vegeta held in a surprised yelp and turned to face Frieza. Hatred shone from his eyes.

“You…” Vegeta said trying to reign in his anger. “YOU BASTARD!”

Frieza was pushed back by a large force of energy. A bright light flashed around him and he could barely open his eyes. When the light died down, he saw Vegeta flying directly above him. He was angry; and he now had blonde hair and teal eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yay, Vegeta transformed. Sorry about the cliffhanger, but we’re not done yet :D One more chapter and an epilogue…and then onward to a sequel :3 (The sequel got canned years ago.......)
> 
> This chapter was edited 2/23/2013


	25. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters

She was out of it, but could still hear their voices. Bulma managed to sit herself up even though she was in a weakened state. She couldn’t even figure out why she passed out. Normally she was fine under pressure. Maybe she had used too much energy. Bulma shook her head. Now was not the time to try to figure things out. She needed to get out of the pod and help her mate.

Then she sensed energy from Frieza rushing towards the ship. Using her remaining energy to blast out the other end, she managed to escape the pod in enough time to hear Vegeta scream her name. His voice was filled with fear, despair, and desperation. Bulma was about to reveal her uninjured form when Vegeta finally accomplished the transformation he had been working towards for his entire life. Stunned into place, Bulma could only watch as a battle between her mate and “father” unfolded.

“There’s no way!” Frieza screamed. It couldn’t be possible. Super Saiyans were myth and nothing more. _Aren’t they?_

Vegeta was still floating above him, rage dancing in his teal eyes. “Believe me, Frieza,” he said coldly, like a calculating killer, “it is possible.” His glare intensified but he smirked when he saw Frieza cringe. “What’s the matter?” he taunted. “Are you afraid?”

Frieza refused to give him the satisfaction of an answer, but his eyes gave him away. There was only one way out. Frieza, himself, needed to transform. He launched a blast at Vegeta, but the Super Saiyan just punched it away as if it were a tetherball. Frieza couldn’t distract him so he attempted to change in front of him, hoping he wouldn’t attack him.

Vegeta could tell what Frieza was trying to do, amusement lighting up his eyes. He laughed when Frieza twitched in pain, possibly a side-effect of the experimental drug. “Bulma,” Vegeta said seriously causing Frieza to look up at him. “A drug she made to prevent your transformation. Ironic…she will be the reason for your defeat.”

Frieza knew he was finished so he had no choice but to use his last resort. He took out what looked like a remote control and hit a red button. Vegeta jumped when the alarms starting going off.

“What did you do?” Vegeta growled.

“I set the ship to self-destruct. I’d rather us all die then allow you to go free.”

Vegeta was angry at Frieza’s cowardly response. Well, if Frieza was going to act as a coward, then he was going to die a coward, not in battle. Vegeta raised his arm and Frieza’s face fell. He knew what was coming. Vegeta sent a blast his way and Frieza was struck in stomach.

Frieza didn’t have enough energy to say anything amidst his gasps. Vegeta walked over to him and kicked him in his newly injured stomach, digging his heel in. Frieza coughed up blood and attempted to speak.

“I don’t want to hear it, you coward,” Vegeta stated darkly, kicking Frieza again. “You kept us apart; you kept her identity a secret; and now you’ve taken her away from us. And then you choose the cowards way out. Well, I hope you are pleased with the turn of events, _Lord_ Frieza. I’ll see you in hell.”

Vegeta blasted what was left of Frieza and just stood over the ashes. He didn’t know what else to do now that his mate was taken away from him.

 _“Vegeta, what’s going on?”_ came a call over his scouter.

Vegeta was about to give an order when another voice spoke. “Nappa, you and Raditz need to get to the escape pods. Frieza destroyed one of the ships. We’ll take the other and meet you on Earth.”

_“Yes, Princess, we read you loud and clear.”_

Bulma pressed a button on her scouter to end the communication and looked at her stunned mate with a smile. Vegeta was relieved to see that she was alive, but he didn’t know how it was possible. Frieza’s attack headed right for her. There was no time to focus on that, though. He appeared in front of her, picked her up, and raced over to the small ship. The two got in and Bulma set the coordinates for Earth. She launched the ship seconds before the mother ship silently exploded in the vacuum of space.

Vegeta hit the button on his scouter. “Nappa, Raditz, come in,” Vegeta called.

 _“Don’t worry; we made it,”_ Nappa replied.

 _“Thankfully,”_ Raditz added.

“We’re okay, too,” Bulma informed them.

 _“How long until landfall?”_ Nappa asked.

“About three days,” Vegeta answered.

 _“I guess we’ll enter stasis now, then,”_ Raditz stated. _“Later.”_

Bulma and Vegeta turned off their scouters and removed them from their heads. Bulma looked up at Vegeta with hopeful eyes. He took her in his arms and began kissing her slowly. The way he kissed her, Bulma realized, was that of a lover being reunited with a long lost love. It was clear to her how terrified he was having thought that he lost her. She felt bad for not speaking up sooner after she escaped. She broke away from the kiss and he looked at her with a confused expression.

“I’m sorry,” she said sadly. “I didn’t mean to make you worry about me.”

“How?” he asked her. She knew he wanted to know what had happened.

“I sensed the energy and got out the other side of the ship before his attack hit,” Bulma explained. “What about you?” she asked gesturing to his blonde form.

Vegeta smirked and powered down. He put his hand behind her head and pulled her in for another kiss. When they broke away for air, Vegeta said, “No pain can ever compare to the pain I felt when I thought you were dead.”

She smiled at him and nuzzled against his neck. The conversation had been dropped and Vegeta turned on the stasis setting. They entered stasis together, both with smiles on their faces, knowing that in three days they would be on Earth and finally have their freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And now for the epilogue :D
> 
> This chapter was edited on 2/23/2013


	26. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ or the characters.

Goku Son was a very nice little boy. It didn’t take much to charm anyone he met with his innocence. So when the Briefs family went for a drive in the mountains and found the little boy living alone, they jumped at the chance to take him in and teach him. It wasn’t long before they realized that he didn’t know much about science or math, but he knew at least a little history from the books his grandfather had kept in his mountain home. They noticed that he had above average strength, as well as a tail, and helped him to find his grandfather’s old teacher. Goku studied hard under Master Roshi and made many friends on his journey.

The young boy protected the world from many evils and also found out from his friends that his grandfather, or what he thought to be his grandfather, was actually a Dragon Ball and Goku made it his personal mission to make sure the Dragon Balls never fell into the wrong hands using a radar Dr. Briefs created.

Goku and his friends had a tradition of fighting in the World’s Martial Art Tournament and after the last one, things had been a lot more peaceful. Goku settled down with the daughter of his grandfather’s best friend, Chi Chi. They had a son together that they named after his late grandfather, Gohan. Things couldn’t have been any better for the little family.

So when three alien space ships crash landed in front of their mountain home one day, Goku couldn’t help but be extremely defensive of his wife and child. He stood in front of the three ships and was ready to attack whoever had come to interfere with his family’s happy life.

The doors of the ships hissed and opened and, when Goku saw the traveler’s waking up, he relaxed. They didn’t look like people that wanted to harm them.

“Goku?” Chi Chi asked nervously.

Goku just smiled at her as the aliens tried to get their bearings. “Take Gohan inside, Chi. I’ll let you know when it’s safe.”

The sound of his voice caused Raditz to snap awake. After Chi Chi and Gohan entered the house, Raditz spoke up.

“K-Kakarot?”

“Huh?” Goku asked, looking back up at him.

Raditz smirked and jumped down from the pod. When his tail uncurled from around his waist, Goku knew who he was, well, for the most part.

“Hey, you have a tail!” Goku exclaimed. “I used to have one too.”

“Used to?” Raditz asked.

Goku didn’t answer his hidden question and looked to the other three who were getting out of the ships. “Do they have tails too?” he asked in excitement.

Raditz was surprised. “Do you really not know?”

Goku did a head tilt. “Know what?”

Raditz chuckled. His brother acted the way their princess used to act, an untainted innocence that was refreshing after over a decade with a space tyrant. “Brother, there is a lot we need to discuss,” Raditz said.

Goku gasped in shock. “Brother?” he exclaimed. “I have a brother?”

Raditz clapped his hand onto Goku’s shoulder. “Yes, Kakarot, you have a brother.”

Goku grinned up at him. “That’s so awesome!”

Raditz started explaining everything to Goku and Nappa joined him and they learned what their fellow Saiyan had been doing on the planet all these years since he clearly hadn’t purged it. “Oh, hold on,” Goku said interrupting his own story. He stood up and called into the house. “Chi Chi, you guys can come out now!”

Chi Chi picked up Gohan and carried him outside. She was nervous about the two men who were staring at her; however, when she saw their tails, she smiled. She knew they must have been related to Goku somehow. Gohan just looked to the Saiyans confused as he observed his own tail.

“You must be Kakarot’s wife,” Raditz observed.

“Kakarot?” Chi Chi asked taken aback.

“That’s my Saiyan name,” Goku said proudly. “Chi Chi, this is my brother, Raditz, and his friend, Nappa.”

The introductions were momently interrupted when the five heard a small cry. Raditz and Nappa looked over to their prince and princess and saw tears in Bulma’s eyes and her bright smile. Vegeta smirked down at her placing his hands on her shoulders. He kissed her forehead and whispered something to her that Nappa and Raditz picked up on. It was a quiet, “Welcome to Earth.” Goku, Chi Chi, and Gohan would never get the significance of this moment for her, but Raditz and Nappa knew full well what caused so much emotion in her. This was Bulma’s first step on a planet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope you all liked the ending.
> 
> This chapter was edited on 2/23/2013


End file.
